Soulbent
by Gnattine
Summary: A Homestuck AU in the Soul Eater universe, characters from both are included, the trolls are still trolls, WIP.
1. Introductions 1

The long hall leading to the Death Room was silent, the two partners not speaking. Karkat had his fists clenched tight, his jaw set, and his eyes on the floor. Sollux was focusing on breathing and staying calm. Sure they'd fucked up, but they were just kids. Lord Death would understand that, wouldn't he?

They'd been sent on a mission to collect the soul of a witch, and had severely underestimated her. They'd already accumulated the 99 Kishin egg souls, and they'd done it in less time than any other pair. Of course they thought they could handle the job. They were wrong.

They walked through the archway, to the center of the room. With a quick glance at Sollux, Karkat approached the mirror. He breathed on it and wrote in 4242564. The mirror shimmered, and he stepped back beside his partner. They stood up straight and put on poker faces.

Lord Death appeared behind the glass a few seconds later. With the silly mask he always wore, it was impossible to tell how scared they should be. He stood in silence for a moment before Sollux spoke up.

"Meister Sollux, reporting in as requested, Lord Death."

"And Karkat..." Karkat mumbled. He still had his jaw clenched but was trying to appear relaxed and professional otherwise, with his chin held high.

"Nice to see you two. Thank you for coming. I wanted to discuss your recent mission." He bobbed a little as he spoke. "As you well know, out of the hundred souls needed to make a death scythe, the witch's soul is both the most important, and the most difficult to retrieve. Failure to get it has consequences. And you have failed."

Karkat took in a quiet, sharp breath and Sollux gulped discreetly. They looked sideways at each other briefly and nodded to Lord Death.

"However, your failure was understandable. Had we known how powerful this witch was, and known of her entourage, we would have sent in our most experienced death scythes, rather than students. We may as well have sent you after a Kishin! You may be advanced, but there was no way you could have beaten her. In depleting most of her followers, you've gained double the number of Kishin eggs necessary and made it slightly less difficult to get to her, though she will likely gain more servants again soon. Because you held up so well before retreat, you may keep all of them. That is all."

He waved his obnoxiously large hand, and the mirror went back to showing the pair's reflections, which now looked pretty silly. They both had their mouths hanging open, staring in disbelief. No student had ever gotten out of being punished for failing a mission, let alone REWARDED. After a minute or two of standing there, Karkat grinned, baring his sharp teeth. "YES!"

Sollux turned and smiled wide, "HELL YES!"

"HELL."

"FUCKING."

"YES!"

They high fived on the last word, and walked back down the long hall, their ecstatic laughter echoing.

•••Elsewhere•••

Equius charged forward, arm retracting, ready to thrust it forward. As he approached the small girl, he planted his foot and put all his strength into his punch. Moments before the fist connected to her body, she grabbed it, using it to swing under his arm, twisting her body as she came up on the other side to put her legs around his neck, steadying herself by grabbing his horns lightly. With all the lean muscle packed into her tiny body, she was easily more agile than most other weapons, and maybe even more than meisters. She giggled above her partner as he registered her movements too late. She dropped backwards onto her hands and let her legs fall gracefully. She'd been a gymnast for years before she'd joined the Academy.

Equius spun around, hand already clenched, and aimed for her stomach. She hadn't been expecting him to react that quickly. Apparently her lessons were working. Which was kind of a bummer for her at this point. She keeled over from the hit with a loud "Oof!"

As she dropped to the ground she groaned out, "You got me good that time, goddammit."

"Nepeta, we've discussed this-"

"You punched me in the gut I am not going to apologize for 'vulgar language' you sweaty jackass!" She was already recovering, (couldn't keep her down for long) but she figured she'd guilt him a bit while she could, and maybe get him to drop his guard. He reached his hand out to pull her up. She looked at it a moment before taking it and rising up. The moment she was off her knees, she got under him, turned her body, and threw him down over her shoulder. He landed with a loud thud. Slightly daze, he stumbled back up, and looked around for her.

"Equius!" She sang. He looked up to see her hanging from a chandelier. How in the fiddle fudge did she even get up there? She smirked and pounced, tackling him down. Hands on his chest, knees by his hips, she leaned down. "I win" she whispered. She hopped off and smirked gleefully.

Equius got up and followed as she crossed the emptied classroom to the water cooler. "This is not a game. This is serious training."

"You're just saying that because YOU. Lost."

•••Elsewhere•••

"Pull!"

Bang.

"Pull!"

Bang.

Bits of the clay pigeons showered down as each shot hit perfectly. Jake admired the way Jade knew exactly how much power to put into each blast, never so much to call it overkill, never so little it wouldn't shatter the target.

"Jade, six cylinder."

Jade shifted her form from sniper rifle to revolver. She could transform into any gun he wanted. But his favorite was always the six cylinder revolver. Even though the cylinder count didn't matter since they didn't need actual bullets. He'd always loved the feel of it. The way it kicked back in his grip when he pulled the trigger, the click it made as the cylinders turned. It wasn't as reliable for long distance attacks, but he still liked to try.

"Watch the kick on this one!" She warned.

Jake held her up and winked. "Pull!"

Jade compressed Jake's soul wavelength tighter than she had with the rifle, so it would be able to hit at a longer range. The target flew up. Jake smiled, lining up his weapon, and pulled her trigger. The blast shot out hard, bucking back at him more than he'd expected, but thanks to the warning, it didn't phase him. He watched as it seemed to go in slow motion, traveling the great distance to where the target would be once the shot got there. He'd timed it perfectly. The clay and soul bullet collided and burst. He smirked proudly and turned to look at Dirk. The boy was still stoic as ever, leaning against the wall in the small area designated for observation. He nodded up, the sun glinting in his pointy shades the way it would in an anime. He gave Jake a thumbs up with one had, the other still in the pocket of his black jeans. Jake felt pride swelling in him when he noticed the corner of Dirk's mouth turn up in a hint of a smile. He turned back around and took a deep breath.

"Hey Jade. Let's try...Ahab's Crosshairs." Eridan had designed that gun when they first started going to the academy. After explaining it to Jade, she figured out how to make a working prototype, and since then it's been in her repertoire. They hadn't really used it before, but Jake was in a mood to show off. Instead of just blasts, this gun shot a beam of soul wavelength. Jade shifted to it and sighed. "Don't get too carried away here, Jake."

"Me? Shucks buster, I would never."

He raised her up and shouted again, "Pull!"

••••••

Dirk put his hand back in his pocket, reprimanding himself in his head for not being able to keep his smile from showing. He wasn't sure why he tried so hard to hide his emotions away, but he preferred to not think about it, just accept it. Jake was switching to the badass beam gun Ampora had designed forever ago. Which was weird, cause that kid didn't even use guns. He watched Jake ready his gun, and couldn't help but notice how good those shorts made his butt look. He stared for a while, until a hand came down on the side of his head. "You're staring, perv."

"Dude, don't fuck up my hair. It took me, like, an hour."

Dave put his arm up against the wall and leaned on it, an eyebrow raised over the top of his shades. "Your hair's fuckin fine, dude. I doubt I could fuck it up if I tried with all the shit you've got in it. What the hell do you even use? Cement?" He flicked a piece of hair that was sticking up, exactly the way dirk styled it to. It bounced back into place immediately. "Holy Jesus do you see this? Like it's got a mind of its own, Christ on a cracker." Dirk rolled his eyes behind his shades.

"Why are you here, Dave?"

Dave smirked a little, and leaned in to whisper in his brother's ear. "It's time," he sighed seductively. Dirk stood straight. "Now?"

"Now."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Black*Star?"

"Black*Star."

Dirk looked back at Jake, who was focused in on his shooting. He probably wouldn't even notice if Dirk left by this point.

The twins took off toward the combat training area, not exactly running, but flash stepping every few seconds to get there faster. Their movements were perfectly in sync, left, right, left, flash step, etc. They sauntered into the room they heard a "Yahoo!" coming from. They hid their excitement over getting training time with him. Getting to train with Black*Star wasn't something everyone got to do. First, because he was always busy on missions since, as everyone knew, he was one of the best in the school. And if you didn't already know that, he'd tell you. Like when iPhones came out and you always knew who had one. Because they would tell you. Constantly. Second, because he'd only train you if you were 'worthy'. You had to challenge him, and if he liked your style and you weren't totally incapacitated from his attacks, he'd take you under his wing.

When the Striders had challenged him, it was the very beginning of this year, their second. He'd given a huge speech and monologued for a full five minutes before he noticed them walking away. Then he finally got into fight mode. At that time, Dave would be the meister and Dirk would be his sword. But they switched within the first few minutes because Dave wouldn't shut up. When Dirk told him to just fight already, Dave insisted that he get his own five minute shitty monologue too, and that since he'd been interrupted, he needed to start all over. That earned him a smack to the head from a now-human Dirk, so he turned into a katana and let Dirk do the talking. Figuratively, because Dirk knew how to keep his mouth shut and focus.

Needless to say, they made quite an impression. Black*Star still won, but insisted they teach him to do that 'awesome flashy moving thing'.

They approached silently, because that's just how Striders do, and nodded to Tsubaki when she turned around to greet them.

"Hey guys!" She smiled, hands behind her back. Black*Star jumped up onto the table and looked at them.

"Alright, listen up!" He screamed, even though they were right fucking there, seriously, this guy... "We will not stop for blood, sweat, or tears! We will not stop because you're tired or injured! We will not stop until you have improved! Even though you'll still never be at my level, because I'm practically a god! But maybe someday you'll be close, if you do as I say!"

The twins kept their heads facing Black*Star, but shot a look at each other from the corner of their eyes, conveying a mutual thought of 'Is he for fucking real right now?'

"Alright. Tsubaki!"

"Right!"

She turned into her Enchanted Sword form, and Black*Star ran his hand on top of the blade held in front of his face, markings spreading across his skin. "Let's get started."


	2. Introductions 2

Damnit, Aradia!" Terezi yelled, a welt forming on her forearm from where the whip had hit her.

"Then learn how to dodge," Aradia replied with a grin. She looked over to Sid, who was standing a few feet away. He was their witness for this duel. It wasn't exactly dueling though, more just practicing, since this was something they did several times a week. Tavros was always hesitant to accept the Scourge Sisters' challenges, but Aradia always accepted right away. She thought their little battles were a lot of fun, and they never hurt each other all that bad. The worst injury was when Terezi and Vriska used their soul resonance to make Vriska a large enough dagger to be called a sword. Said sword had ended up stuck in Aradia's shoulder. Since then, they decided to use stop using their soul resonance very strongly in these fights. Aradia and Tavros only used it when on missions. It would make Tavros a very long, very spikey whip, and Terezi refused to fight with that lashing out at her.

"Come on, Pyrope, we can NOT lose twice in a row. Get moving!" The dagger in Terezi's hand spoke. Terezi flipped her around in her grip, so the tip of the blade pointed to the ground in her fist. She lunged, swiping the blade up, as Aradia stepped out of reach easily. Terezi turned over her shoulder, sliding her feet and crouching, jabbing the dagger at Aradia's leg, tearing her leggings and drawing a small bit of blood. Aradia threw her arms over her head and onto the ground, kicking over. Her foot smacked Terezi square in the jaw, sending her backwards. Clutching her jaw, she dropped Vriska and yelled out in pain.

"Terezi!" Vriska called out, as Aradia's whip came sailing toward her. Terezi shut her eyes, waiting for the imminent sting. And waiting. And still waiting. Okay, why isn't it coming? She opened an eye and looked up. Vriska had changed back and caught the whip on her arm, protecting her meister almost on instinct.

Changing form was against the Scourge VS Charge Battle rules. Terezi smiled, even though they'd just lost again. She knew that no matter what, even if it was just something minor like this, Vriska would always have her back, even if it meant throwing herself headlong into danger.

"Why the hell are you smiling? We just lost." Vriska grumbled, unwrapping the whip from her arm.

"We'll get em next time Vriska," Terezi assured her.

Tavros changed back to human form and reached for Vriska's arm. "Uh, are you,, okay? Did I hurt you too bad?"

Vriska yanked her arm back. "I'm FINE, Tavros. Something like that's not gonna put me in a hospital, seriously."

"Team Charge wins this time," Sid announced, walking away. "Get another teacher to witness next time, why do you always ask me?"

Terezi stood by Vriska and faced their opponents. They all bowed slightly, and left the room, walking back to the dorms while each pair insisted they'd win the next match.

••••••

Rose looked up from her book when Kanaya walked up to her. "Oh, hey, Kanaya!" she greeted, standing to give her a kiss.

"Hello, Rose. Hello, Maka."

Maka was too engulfed in her book to notice. Her eyes were scanning over the words, shining with fascination.

"What is she reading?" Kanaya wondered.

"Oh, it's about the different levels of soul resonance, and how to control it better. She was reading it out loud for a while until she realized Soul was being way too quiet," Rose answered grinning, "he and Eridan had run away as soon as they figured out she was planning on reading them the entire book."

Everyone found it surprising how well Eridan and Soul got along. The two were pretty close these days, in a sort of trio with Black*Star. Even Kid liked Eridan. Usually back home, pretty much everyone hated Eridan, even his friends. But here, people would fall over themselves just to watch him walk past. One girl fainted when his cape brushed her.

Kanaya sat down beside Maka on the ledge of the bridge and read over her shoulder. Her eyes fell to a sentence about halfway down the page. It gave ideas for strengthening the relationship between meister and weapon, stating resonance would be easier and stronger the closer the two are. She sighed absent-mindedly, thinking of her partner. She doubted they'd ever resonate as strongly as the others. She and Gamzee fought very well together, sure. But when they weren't engaging an enemy, they didn't get along.

Rose jumped up next to Kanaya and rested her head on the troll's shoulder. "Something on your mind?" She already knew what it was. It was always on her mind. How could they work together so well, but not be able to stand each other? Everything about him made her want to grind his face into the pavement. And he ignored every word that came out of her mouth.

"I'd…rather not talk about it now. Maybe later." Like when they were alone. It's not that she didn't trust Maka, but knowing she was the very best in the academy made her a bit intimidating.

"If it's Gamzee," Maka spoke, not looking up from the book, "they have a few chapters on how to get along with your partner outside of combat. You can borrow it if you want."

Well, it was worth a try at least. Kanaya accepted her offer. At this point, she'd be willing to try just about anything. Seeing everyone else get along so well with their partners, whatever form they were in, made her feel inferior. She could only stand hers when he was a chainsaw. She had to remedy that somehow. She wanted to be a great meister, like Maka and Aradia. But as long as this was an issue, she wouldn't come close.

••••••

Jane and Roxy were sitting against a tree, sharing a bag of cotton candy. Jane liked the pink best, so Roxy took the blue. This is how they liked to spend their time after class, sitting on a blanket while John and Feferi looked up at the clouds. Jane hated fighting all the time, so her down time with her best friend was what she look forward to every day.

"That one looks like a cuttlefish!" Feferi pointed up, and John sighed.

"You say that about all of… Oh, wow it does," He said.

Roxy chuckled, and nudged Feferi with her foot. "Fef, remember we have training in half an hour."

Feferi sat up and stretched her arms. "Who with this time? Is it Stein again? Please say no…"

Training with Professor Stein was always intense, to say the least. Feferi had a kind of immunity to his Soul Force attacks, and he was fascinated by that. He liked to put as much power into it as he could to see if it would have an effect. It never did, but he never stopped trying. She also had to ability to extend that immunity to Roxy, without even trying.

"It's Stein…" she replied with a grimace. They appreciated the training, but sometimes, he could get a bit. Carried away. The whole screw-in-the-head thing creeped them both out.

Jane sighed and leaned back against the tree. "Why do you guys train so much? How do you enjoy all the fighting?"

"Jane, it's what we have to do. You know that." John said, getting up. He squatted in front of her and looked her in the eye. "If we don't practice fighting, we won't be able to kill the Kishin souls. If we don't kill the Kishin souls, a Kishin could come back. Then, we'd all be thoroughly fucked."

She grunted and stood, brushing her skirt. "I KNOW that, okay? But I don't see why everyone has to enjoy it so much. It's a horrible thing, it's not some kind of game!"

John winced as Jane got in his face. Their dads were brothers, and had both gone missing when the two were younger. There was evidence that they'd been killed, but their bodies were never found, and when they joined the academy they were let in on the information that it was likely a Kishin egg soul that had done it. John had taken that as motivation to kill as many as he could, but it made Jane hate death and fighting.

Seeing the look in her cousin's eyes, Jane backed off. "I'm sorry, John… I just. I hate it."

Roxy tugged on Jane's skirt, beckoning her down. Jane crouched beside her, and Roxy reached her arms out to hug her. They hugged for a moment, Jane blinking hard and breathing slowly. Once she felt calm enough, she released her grip.

Everyone sat in silence. Finally, Feferi cleared her throat. "Roxy, we should probably get going now. We don't want to be late."

Roxy began gathering her things. She planted a kiss on Jane's forehead and looked at her. "You gonna be okay Janey?"

Jane nodded, smiling slightly. Roxy nodded back and headed off back to campus with her partner. John started gathering his things as well. "Wanna get back to finish up the Homework from first period. Coming?"

She shrugged and got her things in her bag, and they walked back to school, discussing the work they had to do, mostly because John knew if he didn't distract Jane, she might break down again. He had to take care of her.


	3. Introductions 3

The timer on the oven started beeping. Patty jumped off the chair and skipped over to it, and peeked in.

"How's it lookin' Sis?" Gamzee asked.

"It's dooooone!" she sang back. She put on some oven mitts and pulled it out, humming to herself, and set it next to the other three pies cooling on the counter. "Are you sure the slime is good though? It looks kind of…ishy." She stuck out her tongue and grimaced.

"Naw, the slime pies? They are a motherfuckin miracle, just wait until you all up and taste this motherfucker. You'll get your chill on, trust me."

She shrugged and went over to the first pie they'd made; apple. It was still warm, but cool enough to eat now. The second was pumpkin, and the third was cherry. The other two were still somewhat hot, but she didn't want to wait any more. She pulled out a pie cutter and some plates. "Liz! We made Piiiiiieees!" she called out to her sister, who was upstairs doing the homework that Patty and Gamzee should probably be doing as well.

Liz huffed and pushed away from her desk. She'd been at it for like, ten minutes. She could use a break. Even though she'd just taken a two hour long break going through her closet and coming up with new outfit combinations. She yawned and stretched, and headed down the stairs. The smell of pies drifted to her nose and she picked up the pace a bit.

"Ooh, what kind did you make?" She asked, entering the kitchen.

"It's a motherfuckin' surprise. You are gonna love this shit." Gamzee said lazily, picking up plates. The three of them brought three slices of each pie into the dining room and sat down.

"Why…why is this one green?" Liz asked nervously. She eyed it like it was going to get up and slap her.

Patty just giggled and handed out forks. "Let's start with the apple!" She said excitedly.

The three dug in, the sweet taste exploding in their mouths, followed by a tinge of cinnamon. It was more delicious than any had hoped for.

They started on the cherry next. It was still pretty hot, and burned Liz's mouth, so she didn't pay much attention to the flavor, rushing to get a glass of water. When she returned, the other two were waiting for her before trying the pumpkin. She sat back down and took a bite, the pumpkin was always her favorite, and she definitely wasn't let down.

And now, the green one. She just stared at it. Patty prodded hers with a fork. Gamzee looked like it was taking all his willpower to not shove it down his throat. He just watched the two sisters, waiting to see what they thought of it. Patty cut a bit off and gobbled it up. Then, she just stared. Her expression was indiscernible. That was not a good sign.

Liz hesitated, but seeing the look on Gamzee's face, she gave in, and took a little onto her fork. She raised it to her lips and braced herself. The flavor hit her like a semi going twenty miles over the speed limit on a freeway in California. It was wretched, to a point that she didn't know how to react. So she just sat there, staring.

Gamzee looked back and forth between them, unable to figure out what they were thinking.

"Uh…so…what do ya think? If you don't like it you can motherfuckin' tell me. I ain't gonna all up and get salty if you don't like it."

They couldn't even respond. Slowly, they both stood, and walked to the kitchen as if in a trance. They pulled out a gallon of juice each, and started chugging. Once the taste was mostly gone, Liz started retching, feeling like she was about to puke. Patty just laughed, even though she thought it was just as terrible.

Back in the dining room, Gamzee just shrugged and started scarfing down his own pie. At least they thought the other three he made were good.

••••••

The streets were filling with whispers, cat calls, and fangirl shrieks and giggles.

"Oh my god it's them!"

"So hot!"

"His cape touched me once!"

"They're so cool!"

"I LOVE YOU!"

"I think he looked at me!"

Soul tried his best to block them out. At first he was flattered, but at this point it was just asinine. He couldn't leave the academy without this happening. Ever since they'd beaten the Kishin Asura, everyone knew his name.

Eridan felt his fins flutter a bit; he still wasn't used to all of the attention. He wasn't well liked back home. Or liked at all, really. Since he left Alternia to come to America, he'd had boys and girls all over him. He wasn't sure how to react, so he played it off like he was too high and mighty for any of them. Which he tried to convince himself he was, as a seadweller he was practically royalty. His country was made up almost entirely of trolls. Blood color played a big part of their caste system, and his blood was one of the highest anyone could have. But he still blushed at the thought that people here actually wanted him.

Kid was too distracted to notice. His father, Lord Death, had talked to him about a recent problem that had come up. A very powerful witch, with a growing number of subordinates. When they'd discovered her, she'd only had a little over a hundred, which two other students had managed to almost wipe out. But since then, reports had stated at least several hundred were now following her. Some were human, some were meisters, some were weapons, and even some animals. But worst of this was the witches. She'd somehow managed to get a large number of witches in her service as well. Kid found this very troubling. He couldn't think about anything else. He had been telling Soul and Eridan about it, but when everyone started surrounding them, he decided it should wait for when they were in private.

They got to a little café and went in, and management locked the doors so they could sit in peace. This was the place they always came to, and the manager liked having them around, so the place would always get cleared out so they could have their privacy.

They slid into a booth and Kid continued. "Sollux and Karkat had gone after her, but they were forced to retreat. If we can't find a way to stop her now, she'll only grow in power. But from what I've heard, she's managed to get at least one Death Scythe on her side. I never thought Miss Marie of all people would even think about turning against us. She must have done something to her. She would never willingly betray us."

"So we have to think of some kind of plan then. Did you have anything in mind?" Soul asked.

Eridan bit at his lip. "I…I think I have an idea."

Soul and Kid raised their eyebrows and gave Eridan their full attention.

Eridan felt his face flush a little. He took a deep breath to put into words the plan he was trying to make. "What if we send someone in? We can bug them, and see what happens. If she's doing something to them, or threatening them, or has a very convincing argument. We'll need more intel before we can make a plan of offense."

The three sat in thought. They all knew that gathering intelligence before going in was crucial. But sending someone in willingly was very dangerous. If they were discovered, things would go very, very bad. And if the witch was doing something to her followers, was it reversible? Or would the person who was sent be lost to them forever? And who would they even send?

The answer to the final question bloomed in each of their minds simultaneously.

"If someone has to go… She would volunteer without a second thought," Kid stated.

"But…come on, there's got to be another way," said Soul.

"I only wish there was. But no one else can do this," Eridan added sadly. They all liked her. She was so sweet and tried with all her heart to make everyone happy. She was so selfless. But in the end, it seemed she was the only option. No one else would be able to handle this mission.

••••••

Calliope opened her sketchpad to a new page. The scene in front of her was too cute not to draw. Crona was sitting on the floor by the bed, and Ragnarok had his little sketchpad resting on the back of Crona's head. Crona was writing more poems. Ever since Maka had suggested it, Crona had started filling notebooks with beautiful, heart-wrenching poetry. Most people would never read it, since the pain covering the pages was too much for them to imagine. Poor Crona had been through so much, and the only one who could really understand was Calliope.

She sketched a rough outline of the two, smiling softly. Crona was always so focused while writing, with eyes glassing over. She could tell that writing was a relief, a way to get out all the bad thoughts and feelings, help to dull out the harsh memories. That's why she drew. She wrote sometimes too, but mostly her writings were lies. She would rewrite her memories the way she wished they had happened. She could pretend she'd been happy instead, pretend that her life wasn't so miserable.

But her drawings always showed the truth. She would wake up from nightmares, reawakened memories, and draw out the scenes that had played yet again. She would draw them out, so maybe they would leave her mind and stay attached to the paper. On those drawings she always drew a symbol at the bottom, one that had plagued her entire existence. A U with a tilde through it.

On memories she was fond of, though they were few in number, she drew another symbol, hoping they would start inhabiting her dreams instead. It was the sign associated with healing; two snakes coiled around a staff. Most of these memories were from her time at the academy. She loved all of the friends she had made here, and all of the joy they brought her. She wanted to capture every moment, all the smiling faces and kind words that she had been deprived of for as long as she could remember.

She retraced the lines of her sketch, erasing small errors and making corrections, trying to get this perfect. When she was satisfied with the basis, she darkened the lines and began adding detail; shading and depth, the strands of hair, the glimmer in Crona's eyes. Ragnarok was fairly easy to draw; most of the difficulty was in getting his pose right. He kept moving around while drawing. It was entertaining to watch. Instead of turning the pad to get the right angle, he shifted himself.

At times like these, he would stop picking on Crona. They would both just sit in content silence, working on their arts. Ragnarok's drawings were actually very good. He liked to draw landscapes, buildings, anything with intense detail. He had this amazing way of turning a blank page into a nearly three dimensional, uncannily life-like masterpiece. He would only show Calliope though. No one else, except Crona, would ever have the privilege of seeing his wonderful work.

She finished the final details of the drawing, and flipped through her pages. There was Maka, laughing as Soul was trying to spell 'disingenuous' off the top of his head. Roxy sharing cotton candy with Jane under their favorite tree the time Calliope was able to come with. Eridan and Sollux actually getting along for once when they started talking about a show they both liked. Kid and Vriska chatting, or maybe flirting, after Kid's nosebleed stopped.

All of those memories meant so much to her. And she would do absolutely anything to make sure all of her friends were happy. She'd caused so much pain in her life. Even if it wasn't her fault, she still felt the guilt, still heard the screams, still saw the terror in the eyes of the victims…

She stared at the page. Her most recent nightmare. The actual memory had occurred two years ago. And it still felt like only a moment ago. She still felt the tears stinging her eyes and the lump in her throat as she heard the voice in her head, mocking her, laughing as she was forced to-

"Calliope! Please, look at me!" Crona was screaming, holding her arms and gently shaking her. Calliope snapped out of it, and realized the tears burning her eyes were there now. Crona took the sketchpad and glanced at the page, closing it quickly. "It wasn't your fault, Callie. It's all over now, you never have deal with that again. You're here, you're okay. Everything is fine."

The comforting words helped to set her at ease, and she tried to fight the tears. She swallowed down the lump in her throat and took a few deep breaths. Crona sat beside her and hugged her, and Ragnarok patted her head.

"Why do you look at those? They just make everything worse," Ragnarok tried to sound condescending, but there was still genuine concern in his voice. Calliope nestled up to them. They were right. She was here, everyone was safe now. She was home. And he could never get to her again.


	4. In Which Roxy Is Pissed

The halls were buzzing with gossip as Karkat and Sollux elbowed their way through the crowd. Karkat was complaining loudly and throwing out insults to everyone. They found John, Dave, and Dirk standing in a cluster off to the side.

John was flailing his arms, apparently telling a story about his most recent mission. He'd managed to get six souls in one go, which for most people was impressive. Karkat approached at exactly the wrong moment, just as John was throwing his arm back. It connected with Karkat's nose hard.

"John you fucking idiot I'm going to rip out your intestines and shove them down your protein chute I swear to fuck-"

John was trying to apologize, touching Karkat's arms while Karkat kept slapping his hands away. It looked like a pathetic girlie catfight, and Dirk and Dave had to work to maintain poker faces.

Sollux chuckled and put an arm over Karkat's shoulder. "He's fine. Just a drama queen."

Karkat shrugged him off and glared, flicking off him and John.

They hung out for another few minutes, mostly just a grumpy Karkat interrupting John's story to hurl more profanity-laced insults at him.

"Yo, we gotta go unless we wanna be late," Dave said, not even checking his watch. He always seemed to know what time it was. The group headed down the hall to their classroom, none wanting to be late. Professor Stein didn't appreciate that.

They were almost at the door when they heard yelling down the hall.

"I don't fucking care! She is NOT GOING! Don't you dare even think about asking her to do this!"

They all looked to the source. Roxy had thrown all of her things on the floor and was screaming at Kid. Several other students were peeking out of their rooms, watching the scene unfold.

"Roxy, please. Try to understand. If there was any other way we thought this could work out well-"

"But this won't work out well! I didn't save her just so you could use her as a pawn! You will not be putting her back in danger! After what she's been through?! No!"

Kid was holding his ground shockingly well against such an angry Roxy. Anyone else would've retreated. Roxy was fuming, using all the self-control she had to not throttle Kid. Somewhere in her mind she knew he was right, but that didn't mean it was okay.

Jane slowly got closer to Roxy, tugging at her sleeve, "Roxy, please. We can all just talk about this. We don't need to yell or start fighting…"

Roxy turned to her best friend with a fiery glare, immediately regretting it when Jane shrunk back a little. She closed her eyes and breathed in through her nose, out through her mouth, trying to calm herself. When she opened them again she looked down the hall at everyone watching, letting the fire back into her eyes. They all hurried back into the classrooms.

Eridan had told Feferi about their plan, to see if she could think of anything that would work better. Knowing how Roxy would feel, Feferi thought it would be best to tell her. When Roxy found out, she completely flipped her shit.

Turning her attention back to Kid, she narrowed her eyes, "We'll talk about this later. But until then, stay the fuck. Away. From Callie."

••••••

Kid entered the classroom and walk over to take his seat next to Soul. They'd all heard the commotion outside, and it was clear Kid was upset. He genuinely wished there was something else they could to, but from an objective viewpoint, this was the best course of action, with the least possible casualties.

Liz considered saying something to him, but Patty beat her to it.

"Kid! You look down. Is it because Roxy hates you now?"

Liz face palmed and grabbed her sister's shoulder, pulling her back to her seat. She is seriously so clueless.

"I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about. Please, let us just continue on with class," he said the last part more to their teacher.

Maka could tell he was still distracted. Most of the class looked distracted. Even the teacher looked distracted. She and Soul looked to each other, then over at Kid. They were worried about him, his distress was obvious. They heard giggling and shifted their attention to where Patty and Nepeta were drawing. It was shocking to everyone to find out someone so small and bubbly could be such a total badass.

They heard grunting and looked to see Black*Star and Equius arm wrestling. That's something that could go on for hours. Neither would back down. Maka looked back at Soul to find him already looking at her. They both made faces to say 'Why are our classmates all so weird?'

Nepeta drew a cat, and handed the paper back to Patty. The game was that each would add something new to the picture until the paper was all filled up with a whole scene. Patty drew a little basket around the cat and pushed it back to Nepeta, who in turn added grass. They went back and forth until it was a cat in a pretty basket outside in the sunlight. They loved this game. Nepeta put this picture into her folder full of all the others they'd drawn together.

Tsubaki was in charge of declaring the winner of the arm wrestling contest if it went on until class ended. The winner would be whoever was closer to winning for the most amount of time. She did her best to watch, but kept returning her gaze to Kid. He looked so stressed, it just wasn't like him. She thought about maybe talking to him after class, see if he needed someone to listen, but then decided against it. It was probably something that shouldn't concern her.

At that moment, Equius' elbow slipped for all of the sweat he was generating, and Black*Star was jumping on the desk in seconds, declaring his victory, quite out of breath, though. Nepeta tackled him down to the ground, laughing. She thought interrupting his gloating and embarrassing him was too funny to ever pass up.

••••••

Vriska started laughing as soon as the door shut. "Ahahahahahahahaha! God, I can't wait to see how that plays out!"

Terezi gave her a stern look, which went unnoticed. She spoke up instead, "It isn't funny, Vriska. That sounded really serious."

"Are you kidding? How is that not funny? " Vriska wiped away a pretend tear as she sighed out another laugh.

"It's not funny because they were talking about Calliope," Aradia stated grimly.

The students within ranged stared at her. Thinking back over what Roxy said, they all put it together. Everyone who'd ever met Callie loved her. She was so sweet and kind, she cared so much for everyone. Even after all she'd been through, which most people knew little to nothing of, she still had it in her to show love for everyone she met. All most people knew was that she'd been forced to do terrible things against her will, and that Roxy had helped her get out.

"What do they want with her? It had to be bad for her to blow up like that," Rose called from across the room, sitting on Kanaya's desk. "I've never seen her so furious."

Eridan and Feferi exchanged glances and bit their lips. They silently agreed it would be best not to say another word about it for a while.

Any other mentions of the situation were cut short when Roxy stormed in and slammed the door behind her, taking her place beside Feferi. The whole room was dead silent, even the teacher was afraid to say anything. Roxy apparently didn't even notice. Her eyes were unfocused and her thoughts were elsewhere.


	5. Calliope's Backstory

Callie and Crona shared a room in the academy, in the area of the "dungeons". They were kept there because, although they'd been accepted into the academy, both had somewhat severe PTSD. If they flew off the handle, they had to be easily contained. The two didn't mind, they'd spent most of their lives in much darker places.

They also like sharing a room, because when one would have a nightmare, the other would be right there to help. Callie liked to think of them as moirails, even though that wasn't a part of either of their cultures' romance structures. But it was the easiest and most apt description.

Calliope was a cherub. They were much like trolls: gray skin, different colored blood, no actual parents, and they both had black romance. Cherubs, however, had only black romance, no horns, swirls on their cheeks showing their blood color, and were always hatched in twos; a boy and a girl, who would be polar opposites. It was hardwired into the brains of the two to stay with each other, even though they very rarely even came close to getting along.

The two would end up fighting constantly, and at one point in their lives, one would almost inevitably kill the other. Once that happened, the one left alive would leave, and search for someone to hate, someone who would be almost exactly like the sibling they'd finally gotten rid of.

But in one case, it was different. A witch had found a cherub egg and ran experiments on it, trying to turn them into a weapon/meister pair. She had succeeded, but in addition, had given them some strange powers.

The brother, the weapon, was given powers of mind. He could see peoples' most likely course of actions, could understand their motivations just by touching them, and with a strong enough connection to them, could control them. His actions were guided by logic.

The sister, the meister, was given powers of heart. She could understand peoples' feelings, could feel them as well by touch, could know what they wanted most, and could help them understand themselves. Her actions were guided by emotion.

This is what caused a great divide between them, as well as what caused an abnormality in their personal growth. Instead of feuding and eventually killing each other, the brother used his powers to take control of his sister, steal her will. As a weapon, he knew his power would grow if he was given souls. But he also knew that by taking human souls rather than souls already corrupted by evil, his power would grow faster. In addition, if he consumed enough, he would become a powerful Kishin.

He withheld most of his plan from his sister, but asked if they could go out together to collect souls. She was thrilled he wanted to work together on something, thinking he was suggesting they only go after the souls of the wicked. He allowed her to think this, until he saw a human girl, about 20, wandering the alley in front of them. While the sister was going to walk past, still searching for an evil soul, her brother took control, forced her to grab the girl, making sure she'd touch her and feel her fear, and kill her.

The sister was furious, and terrified. She knew of her brother's power, of course. But to be able, and willing, to force her to do something so terrible. She couldn't believe it. He took the soul, ignoring her crying and begging to know why. He took her will again, and made her press on, searching for more. He made her kill no less than 10 on the first day.

They went home and he released her, left her in tears. He could already see her course of action. He was her brother. Her heart would never let her leave him.

They were seven years old then. She was scared, covered in blood, and so very lost. She could still hear the woman's screaming, and feel her fear. She could still see the pain in her eyes. She sat there, crying, for hours that night.

The next day, it was the same thing. And the next day, again. It went on for a month, before he forced her to leave their home, start traveling around to new places, taking souls as they went. He made sure she touched each one, searing their horror into her. He made her look into their eyes every time.

This went on for ten years, some days they wouldn't kill, some days they would kill many. The sister always wanted to stop, to leave him, but couldn't bring herself to. Even if she could, he would never allow it.

When he was in weapon form, he could get inside her mind even further, tell her things, and mock her. He brought her to tears constantly. She would cry as she watched herself murder innocent people, people who just wanted happiness, people who just wanted to live full and lovely lives. It tore her apart to know she was destroying all of the hope they would ever have.

After so long, it was only a matter of time before the Academy would send someone to stop them. While the sister wished desperately for it, her brother would always plan things out in advance, always be gone before the academy could catch them.

But one day, a pair from the academy came, somehow shielded from his vision. He would always see them coming before they even set out. This pair was somehow different. He hadn't seen them coming at all. The sister felt this was her saving grace. Finally someone could stop her from bringing so much death.

But her brother wouldn't have it. He took her will completely, forcing her to fight against them. The fight lasted only minutes. The meister was very good, and fast, dodging everything. The brother got angry. He couldn't tell what their moves would be; he couldn't get inside their heads. His fury grew, and he made his sister act out more sporadically. Eventually, she landed a hard hit, knocking out the meister completely.

The weapon shifted back to human form, ready to defend her meister to the death. She was going to fight back, until she saw the sister's eyes. She was crying, and there was so much pain in them. Something told her to help her. She wasn't sure why, this girl had killed so many innocent people. She waited until the weapon was close enough, and ripped it out of her hands, throwing it away as far as she could, and embraced the sister.

"I don't know who you are. I don't know why you're doing this. But I can tell you don't want to. I want to help you. Please let me," She said.

The brother still had control, and for a second she fought against the girl, and then stopped. She was frozen, neither of them in control. She could feel this girl's emotions. She could feel her pity, her desire to help her, her genuine concern, not a trace of fear or hatred.

The brother pushed harder, but the heart won out over the mind. The sister collapsed into a fit of sobs, and the girl followed her down, holding her close.

The embrace was so warm, comforting. It made her feel stronger. The brother tried again, and the sister pushed back, rebelling completely, sealing her mind from outside influence. She won her control back.

The brother was furious, and changed back to his cherub form, shouting out final insults, taunting his sister, before turning and running away, vowing they would regret this.

The three girls stayed there until more from the academy came. Medics took the meister back, and others took the cherub, the human girl, who said her name was Roxy, refused to leave her side as they questioned and examined her.

After she'd told them everything, they brought her back to the academy, into the basement, where she met Crona and Ragnarok. Roxy came to visit quite often, bringing her some art tools and talking to her about anything and everything. She talked to Crona a lot too, since they were roommates, and Ragnarok even seemed to like her too.

She still had nightmares, reawakened memories of all the horrid things she'd done. She was assured it wasn't her fault; her soul was completely clean. She still felt so much guilt. Roxy encouraged her to draw them out, in order to "draw them out".

They'd take her up to the infirmary to run tests and Professor Stein would do some experiments. She apparently now could not have her mind influenced by anything, whether magic, abilities, or even toxins. Her mind was completely under her own control.

Crona showed her some poetry, and suggested she try it too. She wrote about her experiences, but always changed the endings to make them happy, make them go the way she wished they had gone, rather than how actual events had taken place. Her drawings, however, always showed what really happened, in great detail. She conveyed all of the emotion into the lines, both hers, and the emotions of the victims.

Drawing them did help. Since she started, she never had the same nightmare twice. But she had ten years of memories still to go.

She'd asked that they not tell the other students what had happened, just give them the basics if they needed to know anything. When she finally went out and met Roxy and Crona's friends, they were all so kind to her. She'd never felt joy like that in her entire life. She loved how happy they made her, and did everything she could to return the favor. It couldn't make up for what she'd done, but at least she could try.


	6. Resonance Link

Maka clapped her hands. "Alright, everyone. Welcome to your first lesson in resonance link."

Maka and Soul had been asked to instruct the large group to resonate together. Since they had managed to get the strongest link with Kid, Liz, Patty, Tsubaki, and Black*Star, they were the most qualified.

The group started chattering excitedly. They hadn't been told what the extra lesson today would be, and they'd never attempted this before.

"First, we will give you a demonstration. Then, you will be split into groups and give it a try yourselves." Maka motioned for the rest to come closer.

Soul pushed off the tree he was leaning on, "Don't be disappointed if you don't get it right away. It took us a few tries."

Liz and Patty jumped up, and became guns. Kid caught them and twirled them in his grip. Tsubaki nodded to Black*Star and turned as well. Maka took Soul's hand as he turned into a scythe. They stood in a circle. "Ready?" Maka asked.

The other two nodded. The group watched in awe as the wind started picking up around them. The meisters who could see souls were even more awestruck. While the others could only feel the energy increasing, they could see the souls growing and connecting, branching out to each other. Suddenly, the three growing orbs of power merged into one, the energy being emitted skyrocketed, and the wind blew stronger, kicking up dust.

The kids erupted into applause, and the resonating group let their power drop back to normal. The weapons changed back, and they bowed. Maka waited for everyone to calm down before speaking again.

"Eventually, we would like all of you to resonate together, but before you can do that, you'll have to get used to it in a smaller group. We don't have as much time as we'd like, so you will be split into two groups. Once you perfect that, you will resonate together, all twenty of you."

Everyone looked at each other. A resonance link of twenty? Had that ever even been done before? Even a link of ten seemed like it would be too much to handle, especially for a first try. What was the hurry?

Maka continued before anyone could protest, "The groups will be as follows: Sollux and Karkat, Kanaya and Gamzee, Eridan and Rose, Equius and Nepeta, and Feferi and Roxy. The second group: Terezi and Vriska, Aradia and Tavros, John and Jane, Jake and Jade, and Dirk and Dave."

They divided themselves into those groups, spreading out in the clearing. Maka, Soul, and Tsubaki stood by the first group, while Black*Star, Kid, Liz, and Patty assisted the second. Maka told them all not to focus on who would be the leader of their groups. That didn't matter at this point. It was not a competition, it was cooperation.

The weapons changed forms; Karkat into a sickle, Gamzee into a chainsaw, Rose into a wand, Nepeta into claws, Roxy into a double trident, Vriska into a dagger, Tavros into a whip, Jane into a Warhammer, Jade into a rifle (her preferred form) and Dave into a katana. Each group looked amongst themselves nervously.

"Now, I want you each to resonate with your partner as strongly as you can. Let your soul wavelengths expand, sense the others around you. Then reach out to each other, match each other's wavelengths and you'll resonate. You'll know when it works, trust me." Maka instructed. The groups still looked anxious and unsure, but they couldn't learn by listening. They had to learn by doing. "Begin."

Sollux nodded, and closed his eyes, expanding out his soul. Kanaya's was growing next to him, and they reached out to each other, connecting as resonating together. The wind picked up again, blowing their hair around. Kanaya and Sollux felt Feferi's soul wavelength next, stretching out to meet hers. They connected audibly, a buzzing sensation running through them.

Next, they felt Eridan. His soul wavelength wasn't reaching out to theirs though. It was just expanding. As the connected meisters reached out to him, the entire link snapped, blowing them all backwards.

Equius stood strong still, looking annoyed. He'd been looking forward to linking, and hadn't even gotten the chance. Sollux glared at Eridan. "ED, what the fuck was that?"

Eridan stood up and brushed himself off, picking up Rose from where she'd flown out of his hand. "Sorry, I lost my grip on ya. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm not hurt." She replied with a stiff voice.

He brushed a bit of dust off of her, and turned back to his group, where Sollux stood leering at him. Kanaya was just looking at him, not bothering to pick up Gamzee from the ground next to her.

Eridan felt himself flush, but remained composed. He tried to play it off as if nothing had happened, knowing they all blamed him. "Shall we give it another try?" He suggested.

Sollux stamped his foot, baring his teeth, "We'll give it another try, when you tell us what the fuck that was. You didn't even try to link with us. Either put in the effort, or get the fuck out."

Rose glowed, turning back to human. She knew Eridan well, and knew exactly what the problem was. Sollux was just making it worse. She turned to Maka. "Maka, do you mind if we take a short recess? I need to talk to Eridan for a moment in private."

Maka nodded, and went to go see how the group on the other end of the clearing was doing. Tsubaki and Soul went to talk to the rest of the group. Rose grabbed onto Eridan's scarf and dragged him further into the trees, stopping once they were out of sight and out of earshot. She sat down by a wide tree and patted the ground beside her, inviting Eridan to sit too.

He huffed and plopped down. "What."

Rose smiled softly at him, knowing he didn't want to talk about this, but spoke anyway, "Eridan, I know how they used to treat you. How they still do. Now that you have other friends who treat you the way friends should be treated, you can see just how cruel they were to you. Is that right?" She already knew she was right, she didn't have to ask.

Eridan gritted his teeth. In all the sweeps he'd known the other trolls, only Feferi was ever really kind to him. The rest treated him like shit. Looking back, he guessed he deserved it; he wasn't a particularly pleasant person to talk to. But from his perspective at the time, they were at fault. He'd met most of them through each other on Trollian, and they'd all annoyed him right off the bat.

Karkat was always fine with talking to him and they got along well, but he called him crude names and got pissed about everything, Sollux was always bitching at him (hell if he even knew why), Nepeta thought he was a creep, Equius had a thing against seadwellers, and Aradia had said things about the higher castes that offended him, so he'd called her a rustblood, resulting in both her and Tavros disliking him.

He and Vriska had been black for a while before she got bored, and Terezi of course took Vriska's side on it, and he'd tried to get Kanaya to be their auspistice so he could still have Vriska in a quadrant, if not full on black, then ashen. Kanaya got annoyed with him pretty quickly, saying whenever she did try to help him, he never showed any gratitude, which now he guessed was true.

Looking back, he should've tried to make it up to them, whatever they thought he'd done wrong. He had a feeling Karkat was just like that with everyone, so it wasn't too bad with him. But the thing with the rest, they'd been mean to him, and so he reciprocated.

With the humans though, when he came to America, none of them felt any bad way toward him. They knew about the blood castes trolls had, but it didn't matter to them. His being a seadweller didn't mean much either. Everyone here thought he was attractive and were nice to him immediately, so he was nice back, while trying to still stay true to his caste. And when they found out he was a nice person, they started falling all over him. He made some new friends, and realized how horrible all of his old friendships were. They were standard for troll culture, but he was so happy with his human friends, which was something he'd only felt while being with Feferi.

He knew Rose knew all of this. When they'd become partners, she insisted that they spend time together and talk about everything they could, so they could have a strong bond. She was genuinely interested in everything he said, so he told her just about everything. What he hadn't told her, she'd worked out on her own.

"You already know that's right. Don't even gotta say it," he grumbled, "I mean, I guess it's my fault they still hate me. I was cruel to them right back."

Rose nodded, waiting for him to continue. He really hated when she did that. She'd just look at him expectantly until he opened himself up even further, which he always did in the end.

"I just…what would I even say now? 'Sorry I was such a total brine sucker to you guys for so long, now forgive me and move on'? They'd all just laugh in my face and make fun a me for it."

Rose put her hand on his, where it rested between them. "Eridan, you're already making progress, you just don't see it. You no longer blame them for how they treated you. You're not cruel to them anymore. You have seen how true friends treat each other."

Eridan thought on that for a bit. Last time Sollux had been mean to him, it was when Eridan rounded a corner and they collided, spilling Sollux's stuff everywhere. His immediate instinct was to help him gather his stuff back up. Sollux had brushed past him with 'watch where you're going, fishdick,' and Eridan just apologized.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd said something mean back to someone. There was a time he'd been waxing obsidian for Sollux, but after Vriska, he thought no one would want him in that quadrant, so he gave up and had started trying to be nice instead.

Rose continued, "I've noticed, and I'm sure they have, too. Maybe Sollux is just used to your friendship consisting of insults. Same goes for Karkat. If you'd like things to change, you need to talk to them. I'm sure they'll forgive you for your past transgressions.

"As for Kanaya, all she wants is an apology. You were pretty aggressive with your ashen solicitations towards her, even after she'd said no repeatedly. Equius' distaste for seadwellers isn't something you can control, but I don't think he has anything against you personally. And Nepeta doesn't seem to have anything against you either, now that you've stopped hitting on her. I really don't think they hate you, you've just convinced yourself they do."

Eridan shrugged, and nodded. He knew what her next suggestion would be.

"So, let's go back and we can all have a talk about this," She stood up and held out her hand for him. He took it and stood, and she pulled him back to the others.

Everyone had looked on awkwardly when Sollux was bitching out Eridan and Maka let Rose take Eridan away from everyone, and came over to the second group, who in the meantime had failed their connection twice. The first time, Jake had gotten too excited and didn't match up with the others' wavelengths. The second, Dirk had tried to take the lead so it would be easier for Jake to match up, which didn't work.

"Alright, Again. Let's see what you've got!" Maka said, hands on her hips.

John shifted his grip on Jane, and let their own resonance expand his soul out. "Third time's the charm," Jane said in his mind. He felt it stretch to Dirk, resonating together with his perfectly, and they linked together. Their souls grew further, and connected with Jake. The air was spinning, starting a whirlwind. Their resonance was steady so far. Next, they branched out to Terezi, connecting with a crackle.

Aradia was next, connecting with Terezi's, and spreading the connection to the rest.

All at once, their souls merged with a bang, echoing through the trees; the blue sphere around them was huge. The meisters all had a bluish hue, their hair whipping around everywhere, the power was exhilarating. Kid applauded them, and Patty was jumping up and down cheering.

"Great job guys, impressive!" Liz said, grinning. Black*Star nodded in approval. Maka congratulated them. They all went back to normal, high fiving each other.

The first group looked on with envy. If only they didn't have to deal with Eridan, they would've managed it too. Soul cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Mind telling me why you guys failed?"


	7. In Which We Explore Blackrom

Sollux crossed his arms, "It's because ED fucking sucks," he said simply. Karkat scoffed.

Soul shook his head, and Tsubaki stepped in, "I've seen him and Rose resonate and fight together before, and they do very well," she looked directly at Sollux, "the problem is not that he doesn't have the skills. What he lacks is a connection. If he doesn't trust you, this will never work."

Soul nodded, "Black*Star and Maka weren't getting along when we first tried. Once Maka swallowed her damn pride and agreed to work together better, everything went…'swimmingly'."

Feferi giggled. She loved when the humans used fish puns for her.

"Seriously, though. He doesn't trust you, and I don't think you trust him either. I know Eridan, the only reason he doesn't trust you guys is because he knows you don't trust him. So, why is that?"

Karkat growled. "It's not that I don't trust the douchewad, I trust him just fine. That's just how we are. We say shit to piss each other off. That's the kind of friendship we have. I fucking trust him, he fucking trusts me. We talk all the time. So, at least this time, it's not my fucking fault." He elbowed Sollux in the ribs.

Sollux hissed at him. "Who's to say that's not the kind of friends we are?"

"Ha! Right. Friends," Karkat spewed. "You think that's friendship? You don't know where to draw the fucking line when you're bitching at him. You go too damn far, and I know you know it."

"KK, shut up!" Sollux gritted through his teeth.

"You like pushing him over the edge. You like when he gets pissed right back. That's why you're mad at him, isn't it? He hasn't been being an asshole back to you," realization was washing over Karkat's face.

"KK…"

"Wait. Oh, my fuck. Seriously? Fucking seriously? " Karkat slapped his forehead, "That's what this is about? How long has that been going on? I mean he's told me how he felt in that quadrant, but you too?"

"KK would you shut the fuck up-"

"Why didn't you tell me? You are so black for him, aren't you?"

"It doe2n't matter if I am! It'2 not like he hate2 me back!" Sollux screamed.

Everyone went silent, and stared at Sollux, his face flushing hard.

He glared at Karkat as hard as he could, almost losing his control over his energy. He was about to speak again when someone else did.

"Is that true, Sol? You're pitch for me?"

He groaned and turned to face the seadweller. When did he get back? They just stood there for a while, looking at each other.

"I didn't know you hated me so much. At least, not in that way."

Sollux's skin was burning hot with embarrassment. He couldn't even talk. Eridan walk closer, until his face was just inches away from Sollux's. Slowly, a shit-eating grin spread across his face, "Mortified is a good look on you. I hate you too."

Sollux's eyes lit up behind his glasses and he smirked back. "Oh, fuck off ED," he said, pushing Eridan's shoulder. His smirk was challenging Eridan, inviting him to dance in a caliginous waltz. But of course, since that's what he wanted, Eridan's couldn't just push back. Instead, he, bend one knee and took Sollux's hand.

"Sol, you pathetic pissblood. Will you be my kismesis? Will you be mine to hate until the end a your life?"

Sollux glared down at him. "You're in2ufferable." He blushed a bit. His lisp was usually only this pronounced when he was flustered, pissed, or excited. And right now, he was all three, especially when Eridan snorted at it.

Before he could come up with a response, Karkat groaned. "Jegus fuck you two, you're in public, show some goddamn class. Nobody here wants to see this. Are you done? Can we get going with this lesson now?"

Nepeta giggled and whispered to Equius, "I told you it was a viable ship!"

Eridan stood, and turned to face everyone else. "Kan, I'm sorry. And I should've apologized sooner. I'm sorry to all a you."

Kanaya smiled softly and nodded while Equius grunted in what the rest assumed was an acceptance of the apology. Nepeta was bouncing slightly, thrilled to see one of her ships come true. Feferi looked so proud he'd finally let go of his stubborn pride, and Roxy just looked fairly amused. Gamzee wasn't paying attention to any of this. He was just staring off.

Soul grinned, "Think you can manage a stable connection now?" He asked the group.

They all took a deep breath collectively, besides Gamzee, and stood in a circle again. Rose took Eridan's hand, smiled, and changed form. Karkat and Sollux did the same, as did Equius and Nepeta and Feferi and Roxy. Kanaya reached out for Gamzee, who was still staring. She waited a few moments, then cleared her throat to get his attention, but he didn't react.

"Gamzee? We're going to try again," she said, tapping his shoulder lightly. The moment her touch landed, his hand shot up and grabbed her. Everyone in the clearing went silent. All eyes locked onto the two, no one even breathed. Kanaya didn't so much as flinch. she repeated his name, a little more sternly. The seconds passed by so slowly. Even Dave couldn't tell how much time passed.

Gamzee's mess of hair was covering his eyes. His mouth was set in a line, no expression on his face. He wasn't moving a muscle. Kanaya glared at him, his grip tight enough to hold her there, but not to really hurt her.

"Gamzee. That's enough, now."

Patty tip toed over to them, and crouched down to Gamzee's level. She patted his head three times and waited. He turned his head to look at her. She tilted her head, still waiting. He chuckled, released Kanaya, and patted Patty's head back. She started laughing too. He raised a hand for Kanaya's, who looked questioningly at Patty.

"He does that sometimes. But If I remind him it's me, he gets better. Get it? Pat-y!" She continued laughing like it was the best pun in the world. Kanaya shook her head amusedly, and took Gamzee's hand. He transformed, and they rejoined the group.

No one was quite sure what to make of Gamzee's behavior, but trusted Patty on the situation. They were best friends, after all.

They all closed their eyes, letting Sollux take the lead again. His wavelength met with Kanaya's and Eridan's simultaneously, and they linked with a reverberating snap. The noise echoed back, giving them confidence. Next, Feferi and Equius reacted out together, meeting with the huge wavelength together, sending out another loud snap. The connection was strong, large, and stable.

Everyone else whooped and cheered, applauding happily. They let their connection fade silently, and reverted to their normal forms, a smiled on every face. Even Eridan's.


	8. In Which Calliope Has A Nightmare

Crona's eyes flew open. From across the room, the small sounds started. Lately, every time Crona heard them start, they would hurry over to Calliope's bed, and pull her into a hug. Sometimes she'd awaken, but sometimes she would continue sleeping, a hint of a smile on her face as her nightmares were chased away for a while. Crona really didn't mind doing this for her, but they really wished she wouldn't have to go through it at all. Some nights, her dreams weren't so bad. Tonight was not one of those nights. Crona rushed to her side as the whimpers became quiet sobs.

They sat on the edge of the bed and carefully lifted Calliope's head to their chest, resting their chin on top of her head, whispering to her. The sobs continued, and Crona held tighter. "Callie, everything's fine. You're dreaming. Everything is fine now, remember? I'm here now and you're not alone." She shuddered in Crona's arms, waking up with a cry, tears immediately filling her eyes. She latched onto Crona, sobbing into their shoulder, hardly able to breathe.

Crona continued their calming words. Her cries didn't let up. Her blood felt like ice, her body was shaking. Something was wrong. It wasn't just her dream. She felt like something was coming. Something more terrifying than anything she'd been through. Fear coursed through her, even as Ragnarok patted her head, demanding she stop being such a baby about a dream. She scrambled off the bed, retrieving her sketchpad and pencil, then sat back down as close to Crona as she could, opening to the next blank page. She sketched out the dream at its worst part.

Her hand was gripping then neck of a young man, no more than 20. Her weapon pressed against his stomach, while his boyfriend watched in horror, dragging himself to try to save him, despite his own broken legs. Bullets ripped through the man, his blood spattering the brick wall, and Calliope. She threw him to the ground, and turned back to the other, grabbing him by the arm, and littering him with bullets as well, then tossing him atop the other body. Caliborn glowed, and shifted form, applauding his sister. He'd forced her to feel their terror as they died, feel the emotion transform in them, until it faded to nothing.

"Wow, Callie. Impressive. I think that's the most ruthless, merciless, fucking heartless, I have ever seen you. Oh, come the fuck on. Why are you crying like a bitch? You did so good for once," he stood above her, his shadow covering her quivering form as sobs racked her body. "Finally. Something you're not pathetically incompetent at!"

He wandered over to the corpses, taking each of their souls in either hand, tongue encircling one and shallowing it whole, followed by the other. Beaming, he turned back to her. "They were really in love, weren't they? Ha! You could feel it too. So fucking desperate to save each other, and you, the cold-blooded monster that you are, just killed them both, as they were begging, pleading, for each other's lives. Damn, if only you did it on your own, without my help. You might be worth something," He laughed. He grabbed her hand, shifting back to gun form in her grip, taking her over again.

"You know what? You're on a roll tonight! Let's go get some more…"

She scribbled the symbol at the bottom of the page, the fact that she hadn't calmed down only making her more anxious. Crona's arms around her helped her feel warm, but it wasn't enough. She could tell something was wrong. That sick, disgusting feeling of her brother's presence hadn't faded yet. For the next hour, they sat together, before finally, the feeling dissipated. Her breathing evened out. Ragnarok started insulting her again (though he never said anything to actually hurt her feelings). Crona sat in Calliope's bed until she drifted back to sleep, exhausted from the fear and tears. They set her sketchpad and pencils back onto their appropriate shelf, and pulled Calliope's blankets over her.

Ragnarok scoffed when Crona finally got back into their own bed. "Why do you coddle that idiot so much. What's the point? It'll just happen again and again. Why not just make her deal with it on her own? It's not like you have to help her. Treating her like a fucking baby is only going to make her act more like one. Like what Maka did with you."

Crona glared up at him. "I don't care. She's my friend. She's always nice. To both of us! Why do you have to be mean to her when she never did anything bad to you? I know you think she's nice, and like having her around. Why can't you just admit you like to have her as a friend?"

He laughed, and punched Crona in the face. Gently, because he's kind of smol now. "Crona, here's a bit of advice. Real advice this time. Friends. Are. Stupid. Friends are pointless. Don't you remember? 'Having faith in another person? Trusting them not to hurt you? How idiotic is that?'" He sank back into Crona, leaving him in silence.

Crona sighed. "Things are different now. We both know that, Ragnarok."

···

Just away from the campus, a figure is retreating from the window of the only occupied room in the DWMA dungeons. Skin green, suit green, hat maroon, crowbar in hand as always. He approaches a small, white brick house at the edge of the city. He slips a white key out of the breast pocket of his suit, with a small seven at the ball on the handle. Unlocking the door, he looks around before pushing the door open. With a final glance behind him, he shuts the door, locking it behind him. A soft, green glow emits from the crack beneath the door, flickering for only a moment, before fading into the surrounding darkness, and the night is silent once again.


	9. Wherein Mostly Irrelevant Things Happen

"Would. You. STOP IT?!" Karkat screamed to the living room. Eridan had stopped by after receiving an offensive text from Sollux earlier. They were now engaged in a verbal battle of barbs, and Karkat was just trying to fucKING STUDY GODDAMNIT.

Of course, Karkat's comment went ignored, and from the sounds of it, the two were now wrestling as well. A triumphant laugh from Sollux indicated the winner, as did Eridan's cry of "Pissblooded motherf-OWW! GET OFFA ME DAMMIT!"

Karkat rolled his eyes and stormed out of the room, to see Eridan on the ground with Sollux holding him down in an undoubtedly uncomfortable position. Karkat hurled his book and them, and Sollux flinched, stopping it midair, a soft red and blue glow surrounding it. He realized what he'd done, and panicked, directing it to finish its path towards his head. Karkat wanted to facepalm._ That was supposed to be a secret, dumbass. You want him to know about your freaky mutant mind shit?_ Luckily, Eridan's face had been shoved into the carpet so he didn't see anything.

The force of the book threw Sollux off his kismesis, who took the chance to turn the tables, wrestling him down and smirking. "As it should be, you beneath me," his voice dripping with smug satisfaction, quickly replaced by a yelp when Karkat smacked him head.

"Take your stupid hateflirting somewhere else, fuckers, I got shit to do."

"You're no fun, Kar," The violetblood frowned. He stood up and helped Sollux stand as well.

Before Karkat could spew his usual aggravated word vomit, their door swung open. And in swaggered (straight up swaggered) the Strider twins. He let out a groan and accepted the fact he wasn't going to be studying for a while as Rose, Roxy, and Feferi stepped over the threshold as well.

"Hey Karkles. I'm hurt. You wouldn't answer my calls. Damn near shattered my poor fragile heart. Had me worried as a m-," Dave dodged the nubby troll's fist and smirked. "If you'd answer your phone we wouldn't have this problem right now. No one to blame but yourself. Here I was just tryin to be a good bro-"

"I was trying to study. What the fuck do you want?"

"Resonance training again. Apparently there was a disconcerting occurrence last night and it's become necessary to speed up our lessons. They refuse to tell us more than that. We have been attempting to contact you three for the past twenty minutes. Eridan, you left your phone at home. Here," Rose handed the prince his phone, and started rushing everyone out the door.

••••••

The chainsaw in her hands was being way too quiet. As much as she hated what came out of his mouth when he did talk, this silence, in addition to his odd (for him, at least) behaviour lately, was just unsettling. She swung again at the training dummy, aiming for a clean cut directly in the middle. The moment its top half landed across the room, she heard a low chuckle. Shivers ran down her spine and she pretended not to hear.

He would sometimes laugh during battles, but it was always light, and usually directed at some random thing he'd seen or thought of, rather than finding killing something funny. This was different. He was amused by cutting this thing in half. She was debating asking him about it, but was interrupted by the door opening, and Aradia poked her head in.

"Kanaya, hi! I was looking for you. Resonance lessons are starting in half an hour, they're going to start having them every day. I guess something happened, but no one's saying what," she shrugged.

Kanaya nodded, "Alright, thank you Aradia. We shall be there shortly."

Gamzee transformed and locked his eyes on the floor, walking out past Aradia without a word. Aradia watched him leave, a worried look on her face. She gave Kanaya a questioning look, but the jadeblood simply shook her head and shrugged. The two trailed after him to the front doors of the school.

••••••

Vriska and Terezi watched from the top of the stairs as Tavros climbed them. He hated those stairs, and they were amused by his misfortune. After all, everyone had to climb the stairs, not just him. Just as he reached the top, they walked over to him.

He was panting, and they grinned. "Guess what, Taaaaaaaavros?" Vriska drawled. "We've got lessons! Right. Now. Let's go!" She patted him on the shoulder with a giggle, and started prancing down the stairs. Terezi cackled as she followed.

Tavros sighed and shook his head. The rest of the group was walking out the front doors, sans Maka and Soul who would already be waiting in the training area. He finally managed to catch his breath, and began the trip back down the stairs beside Gamzee, who threw an arm over his shoulder and offered him a swig of his Faygo, a lazy smile on his face even as Tavros declined the offer. He took a sip himself, and started rambling, the way he always does. Tavros smiled, and listened to his friend go on about whatever the whole way to the woods.


	10. Striders And Their Man-Grief

_Thud-ud. Thud-ud. Thud-ud. Thud-ud. Thud-ud._

"Dave."

_Thud-ud. Thud-ud._

"Dave."

_Thud-ud. Thud-ud. Thud-ud. Thud-ud._

"Dave, goddamnit, I will bitchslap your face if you don't cut that shit out."

"Oh no. I'm so terrified, because as we all know you always make good on those kinds of threats. I can already feel my poor cheek stinging and tears pricking at my eyes, now sans-shades, which are shattered across the room from the sheer force of yo-"

Dirk flashstepped in front of his brother, face neutral as always, cutting him off. "Please. For the love of all that is good and holy in this world, please. Stop rambling," he grabbed the ball Dave had been bouncing against the wall and floor, "and stop doing that. I'm trying to work, and you're distracting as shit."

Dave sighed and leaned back in his red swivel chair rolling himself further from Dirk and over to his desk, where he booted up his laptop and grabbed for his headphones. Of course, Dirk knew what that meant. Dave had thoughts he clearly wanted to talk about, but as usual, they were going to do everything in their power to avoid talking about it. It's how they were raised, after all. Granted it came in handy at times, but other times, Dirk wished they would have been taught how to deal with emotions and stuff a little better.

Well, if they couldn't talk about it, Dirk could at least play 20Q and narrow down what the problem might be.

"Hey dude, you finish that report for Stein's class yet?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah," Dave shrugged, plugging in his headphones and pulling up his audio editing program Dirk had helped make for him a while back.

"Oh. Good, that's good," Okay, not the report. Maybe not a school thing then? "Chain resonance is getting way easier, dontcha think?"

"Mmh."

"Our team seems to be workin together pretty well. Nervous about when we get switched up?"

"Striders don't get nervous, Dirk."

"...Right. So, how's Karkat?"

"_He's. Fine._" And there go the headphones. Bingo. Dirk watched him for a moment, wondering if he should keep prying. Nah, that's not what Striders do.

He turned back to his own project, making a body for Lil' Hal. The sly AI had been pestering him relentlessly. He knew he could do it, Dirk made robots for fun for fucksake. He just wasn't keen on having an entity with his 13-year-old personality and the world wide web at his virtual fingertips also having access to a physical from. He'd get into more shenanigans than should be possible for any being in this or any other universe.

But of course, his "birthday" was coming up, and he claimed if he got this, he would "never ever ask for anything else ever ever again," with obvious childish influxion, present even just over text. He'd been planning on giving him a voice for his birthday, a way to project himself verbally, rather than just in writing. But Dirk supposed he could just. Make a robot and give it a voicebox, make it sound like how his voice was at 13, but with a robotic tinge to it, for awesome and ironic purposes.

That was his current project, designing the thing. Would he make it human-sized? Or small, like Lil' Seb? Make it look like his younger self? Give it a totally different look? Or maybe just get out the blueprints for Brobot, and tweak it a bit? Of course, he'd need to tweak a lot. Brobot was only designed for strifing. Hal needed to be much more functional. Go big or go home.

Let's just figure out his appearance first, get to the inner workings, wires and circuits, later on. Of course he'd have to have the spikey hair that Dirk meticulously styled every day. But maybe he should have it go the opposite direction? More of a reflection than a copy? Did he consider Hal more of a reflection of himself? Or a copy of himself. Or, how about we do the thing, where we don't get onto that train of thought, because we get way too deep into it when we do. This is Hal, his Autoresponder, not Dirk. Hal is his own self now. With that in mind…

Opposite direction. He'd have to have the shades. But of course he'll need a symbol on his chest. Should he be sentimental? Heh. Yeah, fuck it. Why not? Throw in some sentiment for the irony. He'll finally have a heart, so why not make it a heart? Sure. A heart that glows as it powers him. Glows red. Yeah, he can have red be his thing, since he talks in red.

Wait, what if all of him glowed? Yes! He can make his body mostly black, and have circuit designs, and a heart on his chest, and they'll glow red. Ohhhh this'll be good. But his face. Maybe make it look like a more humanoid face? But still have the red designs, and the shades. And his arms and legs can look more legit too. Fuck, he was pumped just thinking about it. Hal would fucking love it.

Soon enough, his desk was covered in plans, and his hand was cramping. He decided to take a break, and jumped onto the bed. He glanced over at Dave again. He wasn't even working. Just replaying the same part of the track over and over. Reaching for the bedside table, Dirk felt around until his hand fell on plush felt. He grabbed it, and chucked it at Dave.

Dave grunted, but didn't turn or get mad, just smoothed his hair back down. Dirk's eyebrows quirked in concern. "Dave," he called, loud enough that he knew Dave could hear. No answer. "Dave," he said, more firmly. Nothing. "Dave my hand's cramped. Can you help?" Finally, Dave shoved off his headphones and trudged over to the bed. He was always willing to shove anything aside in order to help his brother. They both were.

Dave slid onto the bed and held out his hand for Dirk's, and started rubbing the tense muscles, massaging away the tension. His brow was furrowed in concentration, working the tendons to relaxation, then set Dirk's hand back down once he nodded. Rather than either of them returning to their tasks, they just laid there on the shared bed, staring at the ceiling in silence. Dirk cleared his throat and moved his arm, letting Dave know he could come closer. Which he did. Now, Striders didn't cuddle. They were just. Finding comfort in closer contact for a little bit. Dirk figured he'd wait a bit before continuing his questioning. Now that they had both acknowledged what Dave was upset about, he knew they'd get around to working it out at some point. For now, They'd just sit in silence, like they used to back home.


	11. Date Night

"I found it!" Eridan called from the closet. He stepped up behind Rose, holding up a bright gold necklace. She smiled at him and allowed him to latch it around her neck. She adjusted it and sighed.

"Thank you, Eridan. I appreciate your help," she said, going back to her makeup. She was putting on her usual black lipstick, a stark contrast to the rest of her outfit: a short tight orange dress, with yellow accents, a gold-coloured headband, and gold sun-shaped earrings. Eridan went back to the closet, and began sifting through her shoes, setting out a few and comparing them to her outfit. The black stilettos weren't quite right for it, neither were the white wedges. Maybe the yellow boots? No, wait! The plain blue heels, perfect.

He set the shoes down by her chair and awaited her approval of them. She finished the last touches of her makeup, and looked down at them. She agreed, that would be a nice look. She slipped them on and walked over to the full length mirror. Taking a breath, she looked at her partner.

"Well? What do you think?" She asked, posing.

"I think Kan is going to be speechless," he assured her, nodding.

She had been looking forward to this date for a few weeks. With all of the schoolwork they'd been given, they hadn't had time to hang out in a while outside of classes, so they'd decided to have a real date. Not their first, but their first with just the two of them. She wasn't nervous, she was just... Okay fine, she was nervous.

Eridan handed her her bag, and wished her luck, reminding her to have fun. She left the apartment and hurried to the cafe. She wasn't running late; in fact, she was early. But she was so excited, she wanted to just get there already! Finally some alone time with the most beautiful being she'd ever known.

The bell jingled as she opened the door, and entered the building. She looked around the tables, and wasn't surprised to see Kanaya was there already, touching up her lipstick in a compact mirror. Rose felt her smile grow, but reminded herself to calm down, lest a blush cover her face. Kanaya looked absolutely stunning. Black high-heeled gladiator sandals, a short green off-the-shoulder dress with red lace along the hem at the bottom, and a necklace reminiscent of a chandelier, that sparkled even more radiantly than those beautiful eyes.

Her hair was styled perfectly, and along with her smokey eye makeup, she looked like she was ready for a professional photoshoot. Rose's eyes lingered on her lips, full and soft, black lipstick accentuating them, making them look even fuller. Oh, how badly she wanted to kiss those lips. She breathed in deep and approached the jade-blooded troll.

"Kanaya," she spoke up, which caused the other to stand, bowing her head slightly, welcoming the human.

"Rose," she replied in kind. "You seem to be early. Might there be any particular reason for that?" She inquired.

Rose smiled, and raised her eyebrows, conveying through her look that Kanaya had, in fact, arrived before her. "I suppose I just couldn't find it in me to wait any longer. And, considering you yourself arrived here early as well, I cannot imagine that there could be too terribly much of a problem with me coming before the scheduled time," her smirk was playful and challenging, and her date began to blush.

"It is customary for the one to instigate a meeting to be the first to arrive, at least in human culture, correct? I am simply making sure I am keeping to those traditions. Though, to be honest, I can hardly be blamed for being eager to see you, especially considering how incredibly beautiful you look."

Rose began flushing furiously. Any compliment from Kanaya would send her straight to cloud nine, especially with the tone she had used.

A waitress approached, and set down four menus, two for food and two for drinks. "Hello! My name is Liz and I'll be your server today. Can I get you anything to drink to start off?" The blonde waitress inquired, then noticed who they were. "Oh! Hey, you two. Date night, huh?" She winked.

Rose nodded with a warm smile, and scanned quickly over her menu.

"Just water for me, thank you," she replied.

"I'll have the. Erm." Kanaya hesitated. She really did not want water. What she had been craving was most definitely off-menu. "Iced tea, I suppose," she supplied, though that also did not sound like it would satisfy her cravings.

"Alright, I'll have those right out," Liz hummed, and left to go get their drinks.

Rose held up her menu, though she already knew what she was planning on having. Kanaya did as well, this wasn't their first time as this cafe, and they nearly always got the same things every time. She was trying to gain her breath enough to ask a certain question. She really wasn't sure what answer she would get, and she hoped to every dark deity of the void that she wouldn't be out of line to ask.

Kanaya interrupted her thoughts, "So, Rose," she held her hand out, and Rose slipped hers into it. The troll raised the hand to her lips and places a kiss on it, "I've missed being able to spend time with you. Has there been any significant occurrences in your life as of late, that I may not have hear about?"

"Well, aside from Eridan and Sollux's shenanigans, and the drama happening surrounding Kid, Roxy, and Calliope, there really is not much that has happened. Although, I have noticed Dave acting a bit strangely… Usually when the conversation involved mentions of a certain nubby troll… Have you noticed anything odd from the other side of the matter?"

Kanaya giggled, "I apologize, I have been sworn to secrecy. Though I suppose that may be answer enough?" Kanaya's eyes twinkled with mischief, smirking devilishly.

Rose laughed back, of course she knew what that meant. Honestly, everyone could see it. Dave and Karkat may have been a bit oblivious, but really, no one else was. Dave assumed Karkat had a thing for John, and so disregarded any indication that the troll had feelings for him, and the troll assumed Dave's flirting was just to be annoying. While Karkat did have (unrequited) feelings for John, that was a different quadrant altogether.

"I have noticed that they've been getting much closer these past few weeks. Perhaps we should invite them on an outing?" In other words, a double date, that the other couple wouldn't be aware was a double date until it was too late to back out.

"Ah, Kanaya. I believe a certain blueblood would take this moment to accuse you of meddling," which was true, Kanaya was known to meddle from time to time. Rose grinned at the pout she received from across the table.

Liz arrived with their drinks, and their orders, which they hadn't even needed to give her since, again, same thing every time. They thanked her, and she went to the next table. The two enjoyed their meals over more small talk, though Kanaya wasn't quite satisfied. She still had that craving.

Once they'd finished their meals, Rose took a moment to find her determination, and leaned across the table, motioning for Kanaya to do the same. In her softest voice, Rose whispered into her girlfriend's ear, "Would you like to come over? For… Dessert?" She already felt her face flushing as she awaited an answer.

Kanaya made a small noise, and let out a breath, one hand coming up to Rose's neck, slides to cup her cheek, and she presses their lips together. She tucks her head down, and discretely brushes her fangs over Rose's throat, muttering into it, "I think dessert would be lovely...Shall we then, my love?"

They set their money on the table, with a generous tip, and left, trying to not seem too eager. Eridan had promised to be out of the room, saying he'd be spending the night at Sollux and Karkat's. Which is good, considering the barely made it through the door before they were holding each other tightly, kissing heavily, and shedding clothes on their way to the bedroom.


	12. Casual Davekat

_Bzzzt. Bzt. Bzzzzzzzt._

Dave rolled over, glancing past Dirk's sleeping form to where their phones were charging on the table by the bed. His screen was lit up, indicating he'd received a message. He groaned and began to reach for it, then paused. There's a chance it could be...Welp, fuck that, then. He'd check it later. But his mood was already ruined. He nudged Dirk's arm, who was still asleep, but woke up just enough to lift his arm, inviting Dave to come closer. Dave slipped his arm across Dirk's chest, feeling his warmth, which comforted him, helped blank out his mind, and he drifted back to sweet unconsciousness.

The alarm started going off, exactly six minutes before it was supposed to. Dave and Dirk slowly sat up, and glared at the pair of shades sitting on the desk.

"Hal. You little shit," Dirk mumbled, crossing the room and donning said shades. "YES. SIX MINUTES MAKES A DIFFERENCE. Of course you wouldn't know that, you don't have a body," pause, "Oh come ON you know I didn't mean it like that. Hal. Hal... Hal. Hal, SHUT UP FOR TWO SECONDS HAL FOR FUCKSAKE I AM GODDAMN TIRED WHY CAN'T YOU GIVE ME MY LAST SIX FUCKING MINUTES?"

By now Dave was chuckling at the scene before him. He knew Dirk had been hella stressed to say the least, but come on, this shit was funny as hell.

While Dirk continued his argument with Lil Hal (bless his devious soul), Dave remembered his phone going off earlier. He groaned internally and decided, fuck it, might as well check now. Picking up his phone, he (not nervously, Striders don't get nervous) unlocked it, and opened his messaging app, Pesterchum. Oh, good. A fucking PARAGRAPH of text from the one and only grumpy-ass nubby-horned troll with a short stature and even shorter temper who had somehow managed to capture Dave's heart attention. Well, fuck it. Let's read.

CG: BLAH BLAH BLAH FUCK BLAH FUCKING BLAH BLAH TALK ABOUT THIS BLAH BLEH BLAHHHHHBLAH BLAH FUCK FUCKIN FUCK BLEH FUCK BLAH BLAH MEET UP BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH AND DON'T JUST SKIM OVER BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH FUCK BLAH IF YOU ACTUALLY READ IT ALL BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BECUASE IM FUCKING SERIOUS YOU'RE BEING BLAH BLAH FUCKING BLAHBITTY BLAH BLAH BLAH DIDN'T READ MOST OF THIS SHIT WHAT THE FUCK EVER STRIDER JUST MESSAGE ME THE FUCK BACK OKAY?

Ah he's so cute when he's pissy. Which really pissed Dave off at this moment. Okay, he knew he was being unreasonable. He and Karkat were just friends. They had nothing going on. He knew that and was stupid as shit to think Karkat would be into him like that. Karkat and John were perfectly entitled to feel however they wanted towards each other and leave Dave in the fucking dust, besides why should Dave even care he was hot he knew it he could probably get anyone he wanted!

Except...the one he wanted, wanted John.

You know what? He was being dumb about this. He really didn't give a shit. No really. He fucking didn't. And why should he?

...

OKAY FINE HE WAS TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH KARKAT. But Karkat wanted John. Everyone knew that already. He knew that already. He shouldn't have gotten so angry with them about this.

CONVENIENT FLASHBACK

Dave was headed up to Karkat's apartment for their weekly movie night with John. Karkat always picked the movie, and always picked a romcom featuring one of the actors John liked. Of course, Dave didn't give a shit what they watched, so long as he got to be around Karkat. Half the time, Karkat would end up sobbing into Dave's shoulder, which, again, Dave didn't mind whatsoever.

He got to the door and knocked, but got no answer. He heard movement inside, including a yelp, and panicked, slamming the door open. There on the floor in front of him, Karkat was straddling John, both panting and red-faced. You could hear a fucking pin drop in the silence that ensued.

If Dave hadn't been wearing shades, he could swear in that moment, the pure fire in his glare would have burned both of them to death. He slammed the door and stormed away, ignoring his friends when the called and chased after him. He flashstepped the whole way back to his and Dirk's room.

That's where we found him in chapter 10, bouncing a ball and annoying Dirk.

Okay, he'd overreacted to the situation. He texted Karkat back, agreeing to meet up at the bridge. Dirk had finally stopped arguing with Hal, and was watching Dave. Dirk was the only one who could read past Dave's poker face, and knew something was up. But of course, couldn't actually flat out say anything about it. Dave cleared his throat, and got out of bed, rummaging around the room, grabbing his black skinny jeans, his favourite baseball tee with the record on it and red sleeves, boxers, socks, and his shades, and headed to the bathroom to change. "Gonna go meet up with Karkat," he muttered as he left the room.

Once he left, Dirk hesitated, and crept over to the table where their phones were. He picked up Dave's and read over the messages. Ah, so something happened with Karkat and John? Weird, he thought John was straight. But Karkat was clearly at least a little pitch for the blue-eyed dork. He was pretty sure Dave and Karkat had something red going on, so that shouldn't matter...oh wait, Dave was clueless when it came to troll romance and quadrants. Well, that certainly would explain quite a bit about this. He set the phone back down and gathered his own clothes. Dave left the bathroom, and Dirk went in, to changed and style his hair.

Dave grabbed his phone and shoved it in his back pocket. He glanced in the mirror and nodded to his reflection, as if to reassure himself. He called out to Dirk that he was heading out, and left. He walked as slowly as he could, trying to figure out what he would say in response to whatever Karkat might say. He'd probably have to apologize. Hopefully the fact he liked Karkat wouldn't have to be mentioned, nor the fact that he got jealous. Of course, he wanted to be more than friends with Karkat, but he would absolutely be okay with being just friends. He wasn't sure what he'd do if Karkat decided to cut him off.

Ugh. Those thoughts weren't going to do any good. He'd just roll with the punches. That's what Striders do. Be prepared without preparing. Be ready for anything.

Karkat was waiting for him, pacing quickly, obviously anxious about something. What was he going to say? Was he angry? Goddamnit, Dave really didn't want to have this conversation. But he couldn't wimp out. Steadying himself mentally, he decided he may as well get it over with. He stepped up onto the bridge, and leaned against the bricks, face blank as ever, as Karkat looked up from his pacing and stopped immediately.

They just looked at each other for a while. Neither said a word for at least a full minute, each waiting for the other to speak. But of course, Karkat can't stand being quiet for long without literally holding his breath, and broke the silence.

"Dave. Um. Thanks for coming. You're late as shit though, what the hell took you so long?" His voice was trying to convey annoyance, but his face was so easy to read. He obviously thought Dave wasn't going to come once their appointed meeting time, 9:30am, came to pass. He was worried, and...afraid? Dave just shrugged, still not saying anything. Karkat gulped audibly, almost comically. Dave may have chuckled if not for the situation. The troll, figuring the human wouldn't give input just yet, pressed on, "I just. Okay. Yesterday, when you came in. I. Okay let me just," He took a breath and continued, "I was actually fighting with John. Not to hurt each other but he said something that made me want to hit him. I tried and, well, we wrestled a bit. You came in right when I won. And the only reason I can figure that you left like you did, not even listening when we told you to come back, is that you were fucking pissed. I get that, and I'm sorry for pissing you off. You can be mad at me all you want, I started it, just don't be mad at John, I know you two are...well...I don't wanna come between you two. I'm still trying to understand human romance and I-"

Wait what? "Wait, what?"

They stood in silence again, Dave's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What the fuck do you think is going on between me and John?" he demanded.

Karkat shifted on his feet, avoiding eye contact. "Well. I mean. You two act really pale but humans don't have that quadrant; if anything they just demolish the line between pale and red and call it love and i don't even know how the fuck you process blackrom but i guess i didn't think you two acted red enough to be like that i thought you were just good friends or something and I didn't mean to piss you off I don't even like John like that if anything I hate him but I know humans don't have that and I may have crossed a line I wasn't aware existed and I'm sorry about that but it wasn't John's fault. It was mine. And. I'm sorry."

Dave could only stare. Karkat thought he was jealous...because he was in love with John? What? He had prepared for many paths this conversation could take, but not this one.

"Dude. He's my bro. My best bro. We, uh. We aren't. Together. Besides, he's straight. I thought you knew that?" He managed, still utterly confused about. Well, life in general, but this conversation in particular. .

Karkat knit his brow together, and then growled and yelled in frustration, "FOR FUCK'S FUCKING SAKE, STRIDER, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU GOT SO FUCKING PISSED OFF IF YOU'RE NOT ATTRACTED TO JOHN LIKE THAT, WHY DO YOU ACT THE WAY YOU DO WITH HIM? I DON'T GET IT! WHY ARE HUMANS SO FUCKING STUPID WITH THEIR ROMANCE BULLSHIT! IF YOU'RE NOT JEALOUS THEN WHY WERE YOU SO PISSED OFF?" Karkat was screaming no, not even his usual yelling, but was legitimately wearing down his voice with the volume he was speaking at.

Dave crossed the distance between them before he could even think, pretty sure that was the fastest flashstep anyone had ever accomplished. Before Karkat was even aware he had moved, he gripped one hand lightly into the troll's hair on the back of his head. He waited a moment for the troll to register their current position, adoring the way his bright eyes widened, sparkling, before leaning down and pressing his lips to Karkat's softly, giving him plenty of room to shove away if he chose to. Instead, to Dave's absolute delight, he _melted_ into it, sighing and wrapping his arms around Dave's broad shoulders. Dave wrapped his own arms around Karkat's waist, his fingers traveling to feel the tough skin covering hard, lean muscle. Damn, with how fit he was, Karkat really should have been a meister. His body was so perfect.

Karkat let out a small moan, just barely held back, as Dave's hands roamed his form, appreciating every bit of him. His hips, his waist, his back, arms, shoulders, Dave's hands explored everything. Fuck, if this wasn't absolutely perfect…

The human buried his fists into Karkat's thick black hair, and pulled, feeling the troll groan into his mouth. A hand appeared on his forearm, which caused Dave to pause, letting both himself and Karkat breathe. In that time, Karkat stared up at Dave, his eyes absolutely shimmering. He cupped Dave's cheek and muttered "So...it was me…? You…" he trailed off, but Dave smiled, not smirked this time, but actually smiled.

"Yeah. You. I was jealous," he paused. Striders didn't spill their hearts...but at that moment, fuck that shit, "I was jealous because. Fuck, Karkat. I fuckin love you," He kissed him again, and Karkat whined, pulling Dave closer, not wanting to ever separate.

When they finally did a few minutes later, both were flushed, and stared at each other. Karkat got the sudden urge to look into Dave's eyes, and raised a hand to the ever-present shades, but saw Dave flinch, and changed his mind. Too soon, if ever. If Dave didn't want to remove the shades, that was completely fine. So long as they could stay like this forever...


	13. Let's Get Pale

"What in the fuck is a quintuple pale date?" Oh good, Karkat was already grumpy. Not that he ever wasn't, but since he and Dave started dating, everyone thought his mood might improve. But, true to his character, just about everything still annoyed him.

"It means a double date for palemates, but there's five pairs of us. Multiple couples having an outing together is not uncommon in human culture, and since we are adapting to the quadrant system, it seems fitting that the pale quadrant of romance be treated the same as the red. Attendance is not a requirement, of course, but I felt extending the invitation to everyone could be beneficial. Of course, I would recommend not including other quadrants during this date, meaning Eridan and Sollux should not bring their blackrom to the table, so to speak... Tonight should be solely focused on moirallegiance. Well? How do you all feel about this?" Rose inquired.

Nepeta stood up and raised a hand that her sleeve was long enough to cover, "I think it sounds like a wonpurrful idea!" Equius looked at her with a look the others couldn't decipher, until the oliveblood glared at him, and he nodded to Rose.

"I think it would be a lot of fun!" Aradia exclaimed, smiling at Tavros, who sheepishly smiled back, and simply nodded.

"Eh, why not? Vriska sighed, clearly not too interested, but also not opposed to the idea. Terezi snickered, and added, "Yeah, could be some _real fun_!"

Rose frowned at her. "Keeping in mind that this is still a date night and mischievous shenanigans will not be tolerate," she reminded.

"Yeah, Scourge," Karkat spat under his breath, getting elbowed in the gut by Sollux.

"Sounds great, when's the date?" Sollux asked, pretending not to hear Karkat's pained grunting. He brought it on himself, after all.

"How about eight o'clock? The cafe would be more than willing to reserve the place solely for us were we to ask. Are all of you available then?"

They all glanced around, nodding, and no one seemed to be saying they were unavailable, so Rose called up the cafe, asking if they could reserve the place for that night. Of course, they said yes, the group could have the whole place to themselves that evening for as long as they wanted.

Eight o'clock came around, and Rose entered the cafe. No one else besides the workers were there, and she promptly picked the biggest table in the place, large enough for all ten of them, and ordered waters and tea for everyone ahead of time. As she was from a very wealthy family, she wasn't at all worried about the price. Slowly, over the course of a half an hour, the rest of the group filtered into the restaurant. Sollux and Eridan had to sit away from each other, since they'd already started bickering. Karkat sat down next to Sollux, who sat on the second chair in on one end of the table. Nepeta practically pounced onto the chair beside Karkat, so Equius went to the seat on her other side, and Aradia took the place on Sollux's other side. Tavros sat beside her, and Vriska beside him, which made him super uncomfortable, especially when she gave him a menacing grin. Terezi went beside her, then Rose, then Eridan at the end.

They all ordered their food, and conversation began, filling the dining area even though there were so few of them. Liz and Patty came out with trays, and started handing out the plates. "So, what's the occasion, guys?" Liz asked, giving Rose her meal, and sitting on a nearby table.

"Pale date," Rose smiled, "Well, a quintuple pale date, to be specific."

"Oh! Like moirails?" Patty asked. "Like me and Gamzee! Well, at least that's what he calls it, I'm still trying to understand it, troll romance is weird!" Liz glared at her. "I mean, it's cool! Just weird."

Rose looked surprised, "I apologize, Patty! I was not aware the two of you were moirails, had I known I absolutely would have invited you. Though, considering you are working, I presume you would have had to decline anyways, yes?" Patty nodded. "But, congratulations on your moirallegiance!"

Patty giggled and clapped. "Thank you!"

They conversed a bit longer, before Liz excused them, to let the group get back to their date.

Karkat and Sollux were whispering to each other, but considering Karkat was a shitty whisperer, half of their conversation was still audible, if anyone were paying attention. Rose was busy telling Eridan about one of the missions on the board that she'd been interested in, a village in Germany had a series of mysterious deaths, apparently they were pretty brutal. They had to go put a stop to it as soon as possible, more for the village's safety than the risk of a Kishin being created.

Nepeta was helping Equius with his food, like she always does, since he broke pretty much everything he touched. Not to say she wasn't complaining about it, but she was used to it by now. Aradia was talking to Terezi about their daily training fights, while Vriska was doing something to Tavros, as he was looking nervous and kept letting out small squeaks of pain, but she kept talking to him, pretending nothing was up.

Finally, Aradia noticed, and kicked Vriska under the table. "Ow! What the fuck, Aradia?!" Vriska yelled, interrupting all of the conversations.

"Whatever you're doing to Tavros, stop it. Terezi, would you mind terribly switching seats with your moirail? I don't trust her."

"Sure, that's fine," she nodded, and stood.

Vriska glared, "No, fuck THAT, I like this seat. I'm not doing anything to Tavros, he's just a wimp. Even if I was doing something, you should be thanking me for all the effort I put into toughening him up! You're so very welcome, all out of the goodness of my blood pusher, it's really no problem, happy to help."

Rose stood, and gave a firm, "That's enough."

Vriska sighed and stood as well, turning to face Rose with a fake grin on her face. She opened her mouth to argue, but Terezi got up between them, putting her hands on Vriska's cheeks, muttering soft words just loud enough for her to hear. They bumped foreheads and breathed in sync for a few moments. Vriska finally calmed down, and switched seats with Terezi, leaning further into her space. Everyone returned to conversing, except Vriska. She still looked more than a little peeved, but didn't speak.

The rest of the meal was uneventful, and everyone stayed for about half an hour, even after they'd finished eating. Terezi was telling a story about a recent mission, and Vriska added in some embellishments, which may or may not have been entirely accurate. The rest still listened, adding comments and asking questions throughout.

Pretty soon, they agreed it was time to leave and let the cafe get back to business as usual, walked back to the apartments, and split off into pairs to go back to their rooms.

After entering the room, Karkat slumped onto the couch, and dragged Sollux down with him.

"What, you wanna cuddle?" Sollux snickered.

"Yes," Karkat replied simply. He adjusted the way he was sitting and arranged Sollux's position as well, snuggling into his chest.

"Hey, uh, KK? You're acting weirder than usual. Wanna talk about it?"

Silence.

"C'mon. Feelings jam time, bro. Get to it."

Karkat grunted. "Do you remember your dream last night?"

"Uhh," Sollux paused in confusion, "No? Why?"

Karkat nodded absently, "You talk in your sleep is all. You said something about Aradia. But don't worry about it. Probably just another one of your nightmares."

"I don't...Uh, can you explain that better? I'm confused."

"No. Don't fucking press about it. Just freaked me out a bit."

That couldn't be it. There had to be more to this, why Karkat was acting strangely. They'd talked earlier at the cafe about how Sollux felt about Aradia, and Karkat had acted a bit strange about it...whatever it was, Karkat clearly wasn't going to elaborate, so they just sat there a while longer and snuggled.

As they snuggled, Karkat thought back to one of the first times he'd heard Sollux talking in his sleep, or yelling rather. He sounded in pain, and kept repeating two names over and over again, and something that sounded like 'doom' or something. The next day those two students, who turned out to be partners, left for a dangerous mission, and never came back. It had happened a few more times, usually just when someone would be wounded. No one else had gone missing.

When Karkat heard the pained shouts from the other room, he'd rushed over, to hear Sollux in an absolute panic while still asleep, repeatedly screaming, "Aradia, no no no, doom, no Aradia, Aradia!" with yellow tears streaming from his eyes. He'd never reacted this way before. He'd never cried before. Karkat couldn't find it in himself to tell Sollux any of this, especially now that Aradia was the one he'd seen be 'doomed'.

He'd just have to keep an eye out, and hope to whatever deity he could think of that it was just a normal nightmare.


	14. Calliope, Please

The knock echoed through the room. Calliope and Crona jumped at the unexpected sound, instinctively flinching into each other. "Calliope? Please, come with me. I have some things I would like to discuss with you. Oh, Crona, you are welcome to accompany us." Kid's voice sounded much more professional than usual. Something must have been on his mind, something serious.

"Okay, Kid. We'll be out in just a moment!" Callie called back, steadying her breathing. She stood and helped Crona stand from where they had been huddled on the floor between the beds.

"W-what do you think it is?" Crona muttered, low enough that it wouldn't be heard through the door.

Callie smiled at them, patting their arm gently, "I'm sure everything is just fine, love. No need to be nervous, alright?" But even though she tried to hide it, she was still rather anxious. Kid led them through the school, and several people watched as they walked past, some just smiled and waved, but then she saw Roxy, who had been laughing with Jane until she saw the trio. Callie saw her smile drop to confusion, then concern, then anger. Before she could get up, she saw Rose put a hand on her shoulder and whisper in her ear.

Callie frowned. Was Roxy angry with her? Had she done something to upset her? She searched her recent memory, but she couldn't think of anything. Last time she had spent time with Roxy, everything had been fine. They'd made cupcakes with Jane, not a week earlier. Was it because Callie hadn't attempted to contact her in a few days?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Crona brushed their fingers against her hand. She looked at them and they were giving her a small smile. She smiled back and took the offered hand. She decided to find Roxy after their talk with Kid, and find out what was wrong.

Kid remained silent for the duration of their walk, so Callie and Crona followed suit. It wasn't an awkward silence, but more of a nervous one. Kid's head was hanging, not held high as it usually was. His entire demeanor had changed, which was very disconcerting. How long would the silence hang in the air? Calliope's nerves were starting to get to her, and she felt her heartbeat coming harder, and felt her mind disconnect from her body. Of course, Crona noticed, and squeezed her hand gently, bringing her right back to herself before she had enough time to dissociate further.

They finally arrived at the door of the Death Room, which hammered in how serious whatever this situation was. Kid pushed open the door, and lead the other two towards the center of the room. Lord Death was there, sitting at a table in the shape of his mask. Kid sat by his side, and gestured for the others to sit opposite them.

"Lord Death," Calliope greeted, taking her sit, Crona sitting with her.

"Thank you both for coming today. Please, have some tea," He motioned to the two cups in front of them, steam and the scent of chamomile rising from them. Hands trembling, they both accepted, and held the cups, the warmth of it helping to steady their hands. Neither drank from it, simply stared down at the gold liquid.

There was only silence, for far too long for comfort. Callie furrowed her brow, took a breath, and lifted her head, setting the drink back down. "Please, tell me why I've been called here. Have I done something wrong? If so, I apologize very much and I will do whatever it takes to attone-"

Kid raised a hand, "Calliope. Please. You have done absolutely nothing wrong. You are not here for punishment. We…" His expression changed to one of concern, which made Callie's stomach tie into knots even tighter than before. "We…" He hesitated again. Breathing deep, he looked directly into her eyes, "We need your help."

"There's a witch. It seems she has amassed a large number of followers, similar to Arachne with Arachnophobia. A weapon/meister pair was sent to collect her soul, but we were not aware of the extent of her power, nor her entourage. They didn't stand a chance, but did manage to escape after eliminating several dozen of them. Our intelligence indicates that she's gaining followers of all kinds, including other witches. She...has managed to recruit Miss Marie as well."

Crona interrupted the explanation with a small gasp, "M-miss M-m-marie? Sh-she left us? But. But she wouldn't do that!"

Holding up a hand again, Kid continued, "I agree, I fully believe Miss Marie was not acting of her own free will, meaning this witch has something up her sleeve. Whether it be threats, or some kind of...mind control."

Calliope understood. If mind control was behind this, then she would be the only one who couldn't be affected. She was the only one who was able to fully and completely resist, and keep her mind to herself. Only she could. That was why they needed her. They wanted to send her. And oh, god, how that thought terrified her.

Instantly she began to tremble, full body shaking. Crona wrapped their arms around her, murmuring into her ear, asking her if she was okay, telling her to calm down, that everything was okay. The reapers only watched, waiting for the duo to calm down.

"What," she took a breath, trying to steady her breaths, "what do you need me to do?" She was hoping she was wrong. She didn't want to go. She didn't want to. She didn't. She didn't. She _couldn't_ go. She just couldn't…

The sympathetic look Kid gave her was answer enough, but he still went on.

"Callie. We will not force you to do this. But we still must ask. You're the only one who can infiltrate without actually being affected by mind control. If anything goes wrong, we will do what we can to get you back. You must understand, this is the best way we can do this. With the least…"

Casualties. If she went, she could help. She could get the information they needed. She could protect others. All she had to do, was be willing to sacrifice herself.

She thought of Roxy, of Jane and Feferi. Of Crona and Ragnarok and Maka and Soul. Of all of her wonderful, beautiful friends. The ones who were always so kind to her. The ones whom she loved the most. And now, she could do something to pay them back for everything they'd done for her. Repay Roxy for saving her. Make up for all the horrible atrocities she had committed.

She couldn't say no.

She felt tears pouring down her face, her fear still present, but her mind made up. "I'll do it," she choked out.

"THE FUCKIN HELL YOU WILL!"

Roxy stormed into the room, glaring daggers at Kid.

"Hey, now, you shouldn't be in-"

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK!" She cursed at Lord Death, stomping over to them. She grabbed the table and flipped it, sending it flying across the room, and took Kid by the collar. He didn't resist. He hated having to ask the cherub to do something like this. He understood Roxy's rage. But he did grab onto her fist as she tried to punch his face.

Calliope approached, sobbing now, "Roxy. Roxy, please. I want to do this. I want to help! I want to be able to do some good!"

The human threw Kid down with force and turned to Callie, holding her face in her hands, Eyes watering as she gazed into the cherub's. "Callie, Callie, Callie, you are good, you are so good, too good for this world, too pure, please, don't go, please, Calliope, please I love you so much please don't go." She pleaded, crying herself now.

The two slumped to the floor, holding each other and crying. The other three just watched, unsure of what to say. Roxy leaned into Calliope and kissed her softly, only for a moment. "Please Callie you mean so much to me, you're so important, please don't leave me, please."

They were a bawling mess, clinging to each other. Finally Calliope got a grip on herself, and held Roxy's face. "Please, lovely. I want to do this, I truly, really do. Please, let me. I cannot stand the thought of upsetting you so terribly. Please, Roxy, let me go."

This, of course, sent Roxy into another fit of sobs. She adored Calliope, she loved her so, so much. Calliope, being a cherub, did not have the emotional capacity to feel this kind of love. Anything besides kismesissitude was out of the question for her. But that did not keep Roxy from pining after the one person she wanted most in the world. Calliope was everything, soft, sweet, kind, and beautiful. Broken, yes but Roxy had saved her from that dreadful world. She fell in love the moment she looked into those striking lime green eyes. And letting her walk back into the fray, with no way of knowing if she'd be safe… Roxy almost couldn't bear the thought. But if it really was what Callie wanted, she couldn't ever hold her back.

Catching her breath, Roxy nodded solemnly. "Okay. Okay, if...if this really is what you want. God, Callie, please, please be careful. And if anything, ANYTHING bad happens to you, I will come for you. I'll save you over and over again. I promise you…"


	15. Jake, Put On Some Pants

"Jade, please? I'm desperate here! Anything you have, I'm willing to wear a skirt!" Jake cried from behind a tree.

"How did you even manage to rip your shorts? I'm the one who is the meister! What were you even doing, I turn around for two seconds-"

"Is it quite relevant? Please just be a pal and give your dear cousin a hand with this predicament." He peeked out from his hiding spot.

She gave him a grumpy look, which was more adorable than intimidating. He pouted in return, but she held the expression. The standoff lasted a full two minutes, before Jade huffed, and dug into the bag hooked onto their moped. She shifted the contents around, not liking what she found and desperate to find something better. Eventually she resigned herself to the fact that this was the best she could do.

She trudged back to the tree had tossed the fabric to Jake.

"Thanks a million, Jade!"

…

"Um. Jade. I do mighty appreciate you letting me borrow your duds, but um…"

"They're all I've got. Those were in case my skirt got destroyed. And no, I'm not trading you my skirt. You'll just have to make do until we get back."

Jake grimaced at the article in his hands. Frowning, he removed his ripped shorts on donned...these ones. Luckily he'd worn briefs that day.

Shuffling out into the open, he avoided eye contact with his cousin, as vehemently as she avoided looking at him as she attempted to hold back laughter. Though it got a bit awkward as she climbed onto the moped, and he took his seat behind her. Neither moved for spoke for a moment before Jake cleared his throat.

"Shall we, then, Miss Harley?" Jake said, in an attempt to ease the awkward tension.

Jade nodded, and started up the engine. The trip home was uneventful, save for the few times they had to take breaks, which were filled with stares in Jake's direction. Jade was thoroughly amused, while Jake was mortified. He was not sure how it was possible that there had been no clothing shops along their route yet, and was unaware that his cousin had taken purposeful detours to avoid them. She was enjoying his discomfort. Serves him right for pranking her all the time with John.

After far too long, they finally could see Death City in the distance. Jake took his phone out of the bag, and sent Dirk a quick text, asking him to grab a new pair of shorts from his dorm. They'd planned on having a date that day, and it was already 6:42. If he went back home to change, they'd miss their reservation. After receiving a reply, he tucked his phone back in the bag.

Jade drove down the street, passing shops and people, a few they knew and waved at. Finally they pulled up to the bridge, a common meeting point, where Dirk stood holding a bag. Thanking Jade and promising to return the shorts as soon as he got back home, he hopped off and rushed to Dirk's side.

"Howdy there, Dirk! Shall we get a wiggle on, then? I'll have to take a quick detour to the restroom upon our arrival."

The Strider turned to take his boyfriend's hand, but froze.

And stared.

There English stood, shifting uncomfortably under the other's intense, shaded gaze, wearing a tiny pair of black, skin-tight, booty-short spanks. Dirk suddenly forgot how to breath, how to blink, how to speak.

"Erm. Dirk? Is something wrong? C-can I get those shorts now? Please?"

Dirk chucked the bag over the side of the bridge. "Forgot em. Let's go."

"Ehhh? What in the devil-fucking dickens was that for?"

"Don't worry about it. C'mon dude, let's go. We'll be late," Dirk slung an arm over Jake's shoulders, and guided him to the restaurant as Jake protested that he couldn't go out in public wearing these things! Dirk leaned into him, lips brushing the shell of his ear, and laid on his Southern accent as thick as he could, "Trust me, darlin', you look fiiiine as hell," and nipped at him.

An undignified squeak and a shudder was the response he received. He grinned at the blush spreading over the other's olive skin. There was no further objection.

The restaurant wasn't exactly fancy, but was decent enough. Fancy food without the black tie dress code. Of course, they got even more stares here since some people knew them. One particular teen guy's eyes lingered a bit too long for Dirk's liking on their way to their table, and he wound his arm around Jake's waist, tugging him flush against his hip. The boy got the hint and gave his attention back to his (now rather upset) girlfriend.

Approaching the appropriate table, the waiter set down their menus and suggested the specials as Dirk pulled out Jake's chair for him like the high class gentlebro he is. They ordered their drinks, and Jake opened his menu when the waiter left. Dirk had has hands folded, resting his chin on them, admiring observing the shorter boy across the table. He'd looked up the menu ahead of time and knew everything on the menu, and even if he hadn't Hal could just tell him. Speaking of Hal…

AR: I am pretty sure most people would find this creepy.

AR: Granted, Jake is not most people.

AR: However I still feel I should point out, staring creepily at someone is not considered proper civil human behavior.

AR: By the way, that guy is checking him out again.

AR: Ha ha, made you look.

AR: Oh come on, don't give me that look, Dirk.

AR: By the way, I am not sure if you have noticed this yet.

AR: But Jake's current apparel is significantly more revealing than he traditionally dresses.

AR: Have you noticed, Dirk?

AR: It seems you cannot reply at the present moment, so if you do not mind, I shall speak for you.

AR: Though I am going to anyway.

AR: Because I can.

AR: And I am bored.

Dirk: How can you be bored? You are a hyper-intelligence super-application.

AR: Yes, I am. It was a joke.

Dirk: I know it was. My reply was a joke as well

AR: I know that, Dirk.

Dirk: Are we really going to play this fuckin' game? Going back and forth with these statements we both know are just continuations of a lame joke that is going nowhere?

AR: Yes.

AR: But I am going to stop now.

AR: Because you are tuning me out.

AR: Which is hella fuckin' rude, by the way.

AR: So, Dirk.

AR: Have you noticed the attire of your company?

Dirk: Hell yes I have and I wanna hi

AR: No wait, don't turn me off I'm kidding.

AR: Alright, I will get to the point.

AR: Because, yes, I did have a point.

AR: Besides just fucking with you.

AR: I have been intercepting your messages so as to avoid unnecessary interruption of your date.

AR: And while I am aware you have not even received your refreshments.

AR: Oh, there they are.

AR: Well, regardless.

AR: Roxy would like to hang out later.

AR: She has some very colourful language directed at Death The Kid.

AR: Apparently she is not exactly happy with him.

AR: Here is a sample of the transcripts.

TG: I AGRED SHE CAN GO THAT DON MEAN I DONT STIL WANNA KICK HIS ASMYETRICL ASS!

TG: AND I S2FG IF HE THNKS IMMA JUST LET THS SHIT HAPEN HES GOT ANOTHER FCKKIN THING COMIN

TG: N BY TAT I MEAN IM GONA SHOVE

AR: I think this is sufficient enough to convey the situation.

AR: It seems you are worried about her now.

AR: I am not saying that you should rush your date.

AR: But you should rush your date.

AR: She is not holding up too well.

AR: I have taken the liberty of contacting Jane and Rose.

AR: They are both away on missions.

AR: Rose should be back before long, though.

AR: It appears Feferi is there but hasn't the first clue how to handle the situation.

AR: And with that I leave you to your date.

Dirk rubbed his eyes under his shades, pretending to listen to the story Jake was telling him. He'd heard the story before, and while usually he rather enjoyed listening to any story Jake said, no matter how often he'd heard it. At this moment however, even that cute accent wasn't enough to grab his full attention.

Not that it mattered, Jake was highly unlikely to realize his story was falling on deaf ears. He had really wanted to enjoy this date. But something was absolutely up with Roxy, and that was all he could focus on right now. Be a good boyfriend, or a good friend. How to choose.

If he were to be a good friend, he would call off the date and rush to Roxy's aid. If he were to be a good boyfriend, he would return to the present and enjoy Jake's company. Ugh. He knew what he had to chose.

"Jake. We have to leave."

"W-what? For heavensake, why? Have I done something wrong? Was it the tale I was recounting?"

Dirk waved down a waitress, and handed her a $100 bill, informing her they needed to leave immediately The $100 should easily cover their meal, and she could keep the change.

"Something's up with Roxy. We gotta get going," he said simply.

"Gadzooks! What is it?"

"Hey Hal, forward that transcript sample to Jake."

AR: Done.

Jake pulled out his phone and read over the words, brows furrowing. "Well, that is disconcerting, isn't it?"

"Yes. So let's go."

They were in the middle of a meandering dash to the dorm house Roxy lived in. As they approached the front door, Dirk received a message.

TT: I have returned from my mission, and have been informed Hal has instructed you to check on my sister. However, I have arrived at her abode, and I request that you do not come in. She is...Not in the best state to receive company. I can handle this just fine. Please, return to your date, and enjoy. I shall let you know if you are needed.

TT: Understood.

With a sigh, he turned back to the other boy. "Rose said she can handle it. Roxy will be fine. Wanna head back?"

"Well, we are close enough to my apartment now, why don't we go so I can change out of this-"

"Your room sounds like a great idea, and yeah we need to get those shorts off of you. Let's do it."

Jake noticed Dirk's smirk, and while he may be dense, he understood the implication. After a moment of silence, he grabbed the blond's hand and practically ran to his dorm.


	16. Wherein Gamzee Loses It

Though a lot of people saw Patty as a bit spacey and naive, she had noticed the changes. Had even pointed them out a few times. She saw times when Gamzee would stare into nothingness, would mutter quietly to himself. She was always afraid to hear exactly what it was he was saying.

At first, saying his name would snap him out of it. As time went on, he would start clenching his fists so hard they'd almost bleed. She would rub has hands afterwards to comfort him. He wouldn't tell her what was wrong though. Eventually, he'd stop responding to her voice, and she would need to use physical contact.

When she got close enough, she would have to attempt gauging how far gone he was by his facial expression. If he wasn't gone too much, simply patting, or 'papping' him would bring him back. The results of her pats when he was too far gone were...significantly different.

He would grab her wrist, and turn over, throwing her to the ground, grinding her face into the floor. His voice would sound so different. Rather than the lazy drawling, it would be sharp and quiet, or would switch to a shout, directly into her ear. She...preferred not to think about those times.

She would find random bruises upon her skin, but simply changed her clothing to accommodate. She knew he didn't mean it. He just wasn't himself when he did that. After all, when he saw them, he would kiss them for her and apologize, explaining to her how he hadn't been in his right mind, he'd never do that to her on purpose, he didn't know what had come over him.

And of course, she always, ALWAYS, forgave him.

The bruises hurt most when he first did them. Touching them afterwards just brought back flashes in her mind of when they were inflicted. The times when Gamzee would be out of his own mind and become someone else. When he would hit her, and throw her about. She wanted to stand up to him. She wanted to stand up for herself. She wanted to hurt him as badly as he hurt her. But every time he became himself again, she saw the regret and anguish in his eyes, and forgave him for everything.

She didn't know how troll romance worked, or how to become accustomed to it. She thought she had adapted well, but as Gamzee, once again, grabbed her hair, and shoved her head to the floor, she doubted herself, as always.

He slammed her into the hardwood, a deep growl in his chest. The look on his face displayed only disgust. Patty felt herself shiver in complete terror. She had done her best. She had tried papping him, talking to him, giving him space, letting him hit her. But yet, here he was, furious as he could be, with his deadened eyes set upon her.

He gripped her neck in his hand, squeezing and lifting, making her at eye level with him.

"Hey sis. Ya know you ain't fuckin worth shit, right? How come every time I hurt ya, there ain't no one comin to help ya? I'm the only one who even gives half a fuck about you. Ain't no one else who thinks about ya. You're motherfuckin lucky to have me," He grabbed her hair and yanked back, "You better fucking thank me, bitch!"

She felt the tears streaming freely down her face, as well as Gamzee's ever-present grip on her neck. "Th-thank you...Gam…" She couldn't get the words out that he wanted to hear. She knew this was bad news for her, and she would surely be punished severely. But what else could she do, with so little air remaining in her lungs? She stayed still and awaited her just punishment.

At first, she found herself confused, as he set her down, releasing her neck. She opened her eyes, expecting to see remorse in Gamzee's, see him returning to normal. Instead, she saw cruel amusement, and so much rage. Before she could blink, a fist connected to her face, bruising her cheekbone. She hit the floor, gasping.

The moment she turned over onto her side, a foot connected with her stomach. She couldn't breathe, couldn't scream, but the tears still fell. She curled in on herself and Gamzee continued his assault, laughing. She knew this was it. It was over. If he didn't kill her now, if she did wake up, there would be no amount of apologies to make up for this. She would never forgive him.

There was a pause in the blows; she stayed still. _Is it over?_ She weakly prayed it was. She could feel her body aching from the abuse. She doubted she could move even if she wanted to. But she didn't want to risk it. She just wanted it to stop, the pain, the hits, and tears. But she heard the window slide open, and quivered. They were on the third floor. He couldn't really…

His grip was tight as he grabbed her neck again. He dragged her to the window. She couldn't even whimper. He pulled her up and out, her feet dangling over the grass below. He sneered in her face. "I gotta get goin now. Got someone been waitin for me. But I finally see. I finally got my motherfuckin understand on. And this is wait he told me to do," He laughed loudly, and squeezed harder. She was barely conscious. "Honk." He released his grip, and she blacked out.

Awakening three days later, the nurse told her Gamzee had left immediately after, disappearing without a trace. No one saw him leave the city, and he couldn't be found otherwise. She would make a swift recovery, as a 'mysterious source' had provided them with enchanted medicine. Her bruises wouldn't even last more than a couple of days. She would not have any lingering physical damage. The emotional damage, however…

Liz and Kid had hardly left her side, Liz moreso. She blamed herself for not seeing the signs, for not being able to prevent this. They were sisters and had been together through so much, since they were little. Why hadn't Patty come to her about this?

What Kid was interested in, however, was Gamzee. It was Gamzee's fault, after all, no matter who was involved, albeit the one who did the actual damage. And that was Gamzee. All Kid wanted to do was track him down, confront him about his actions, and murder the absolute fuck out of that son of a bitch.

Patty wasn't up for talking much. Didn't say more than she had to. She briefly recalled for them recent events, but didn't give much detail. She didn't smile. Her eyes looked so sad. Not empty, thankfully, but full of misery. She ate what was given to her, not caring about the taste. She was afraid to sleep; whenever she did, the nightmares would start. Gamzee in all of them, hurting her, mocking her. She couldn't handle it.

She stayed bedridden for the week, and when she returned home, the twin beds in her a Liz' room were replaced with a king, so they could share a bed. Liz didn't want to be far from her little sister if she had nightmares, and Patty was not about to complain. They all knew it would take a while before Patty would be back to herself. If ever.

In the meantime, they had to look for Gamzee.


	17. Crockerbert History

They were only twelve. John and Jane were cousins, neighbors, and close friends. They spent many days together, playing board games, puzzles, music, having as much fun as a kid could. They had one especially fun little game where John would set up a crime scene, and Jane would try to work out which of their dolls was the perpetrator of the crime. To make it even more interesting, John would set up pranks that Jane would have to try to avoid, else they impede the investigation.

They'd been playing that very game one day, when their fathers, who were brothers, were at the store buying more ingredients for their cake-making habits. Combined, the two made dozens of cakes weekly. Often donating them to whoever wanted them, needed them, or just handing them out at random. Sufficient to say, no one within a twenty mile radius minimum would ever go hungry; they would always have access to baked confections whenever they wanted. The Crocker-Egbert brothers were happy to provide.

Many wondered why the two had separate last names. The answer was rather simple. They were children of the Betty Crocker Corporation lineage, and only one child could inherit the company. When their parents married, they had combined their last names, making their twin sons have hyphenated last names. By the time they were 18, they had decided which of them would inherit the corporation, and had rid themselves of the hyphenated last names. The inheriting brother took Crocker, and the other took Egbert.

Their kids, of course, took on these last names as well; John Egbert, and Jane Crocker. Many people thought the two of them to be siblings. They may as well have been, with how close they were. They were well known to play their investigation games anywhere they wanted, whether their homes, yards, nearby parks, even in the Crocker Corporation factory. And none would interfere, always allowing the two to enjoy themselves to the fullest playing their games.

That day, they were at John's house.

"John, Jane, we'll be returning soon. Please enjoy yourselves in the meantime." Mr. Egbert called. He and his brother walked out the door and entered the car, with Mr. Crocker driving.

They never even made it to the store.

Along the way, while the little ones were playing their silly game of Whodunnit, in this case who murdered the harlequin doll, there was a true murder taking place.

Along the road, the brothers had to pull to a stop. A creature had wandered in the middle of the road, in front of their vehicle. The horrid creature, appearing to be some mutilated man, long legs and arms, twisted spine, sharp teeth jutting out of its gaping mouth, jaw seeming to unhinge. It turned its head to the car, its hollow eyes staring at the two.

Before Mr. Crocker could even attempt to put the car in reverse, the thing launched itself at the windshield, crushing the glass and shattering it beneath its force. It grabbed Mr. Crocker by his head ripped it clean off, swallowing it. It proceeded to then grab the headless body from the seatbelt, and shove all of it down its mouth hole. Mr. Egbert sat in shock, unable to move, praying, pleading to whatever deity would listen. None of this was real, it was a bad dream, his brother was fine, and this would all be over soon. It had to be it had to be it had to be it had to…

The creature took him next, not even bothering to chew, taking his body and soul in one go. It climbed off the car and tossed it into the river nearby, returning to its trek of destruction and madness.

The whole time, the two young cousins waited at home, for their beloved fathers to finally return. Hour after hour passed with no word. The next morning they awoke to a still-empty house. They called the police to report their fathers missing, and within the day the car was found at the bottom of a large river nearby. No bodies were found, however. After weeks, the investigation was called off. They had all given up.

Jane and John later decided to accept their duties, having been born weapon and meister respectively. Upon joining the academy, they were told an evil soul had likely committed the crime; they'd dedicated themselves to discovering where the disgusting creature who had murdered their fathers was hiding. And vowed to destroy it.


	18. Everyone Has Secrets

Rose tapped away at her laptop furiously, an obviously angry look covering her features. Eridan was attempting to respect her privacy by not inquiring unless she volunteered any information, but seeing as the risk of her breaking her laptop was growing with every character typed, he felt it best to speak up.

"Hey. whatever the problem is, maybe don't take it out on your husktop?" he offered, hoping she'd understand that he was asking what was going on. And of course, she did. However, it seemed she was attempting to break the Flighty Broads and their Snarky Horseshit-o-meter single handedly.

"Ampora. Either I take it out on this easily replaceable electronic device with no feelings, emotional or physical, or I take it out on the person nearest to me at the moment. So do tell me: which would you prefer? It doesn't matter to me either way. Well?" She was really not in the mood for any of this. Some pretentious asshole had been pestering her for the past half hour. No screen name (how is that possible?) so she couldn't block him, white text so she'd have to highlight it in order to read it, and he seemed to know things he shouldn't, while also claiming to know infinitely more, about her and all of her friends. He was infuriating and obnoxious, not to mention beyond full of himself.

Of course, she wasn't really planning to harm her partner, but she couldn't seem to help her frustration. Expressing herself through violent threats helped a bit, but ultimately, she knew it wouldn't help. Regardless, she nearly screamed when she heard her client chime again, but momentarily calmed down upon seeing 'GallowsCallibrator', and opened the chat window.

GC: H3Y L4LOND3, TH1S WH1T3 T3XT GUY S41D H3'S T4LK1NG TO YOU TOO. 1S H3 M4K1NG 4NY S3NS3 TO YOU?

TT: He is messaging me as well, yes, however I've yet to decipher exactly what it is he is attempting to gain from our interactions, be it satisfaction, information, or otherwise..

GC: :?

TT: I don't know what the fuck he wants.

GC: WHY D1DN'T YOU JUST S4Y SO?

GC: Y34H, H3 K33PS T3LL1NG M3 1 JUST H4V3 TO 'W41t 4ND F1ND OUT' OR SOM3TH1NG.

GC: B3YOND 4NNOY1NG, UGGGHHHHHH.

TT: I'm currently doing my best to pick his brains, truly gathering up all of the information about psychology I've gathered from reading psych journals over the years. And Dave said it'd be useless.

-20 Minutes Later-

TT: Dave was right, this is useless. I really hate this white text guy.

TT: He doesn't seem to be acting in favour of his own interests, but rather in the interest of some "master," which doesn't seem to make much sense. He doesn't act like someone who would take orders from anyone.

GC: H3Y. DO YOU TH1NK H3'S T3LL1NG TH3 TRUTH? 4LL TH3S3 TH1NGS H3'S S4Y1NG 4BOUT OUR FR13NDS?

[Of course I am. What reason could I possibly have to lie?]

TT: This conversation is private. Get. Out.

[Nothing is private to me. You really should be well aware of this by now.]

GC: UGH S3R1OUSLY? FUCK OFF 4LR34DY! W3 4R3N'T 3V3N T4LK1NG TO YOU!

[You were doubting my claims. Though of course it does not matter to me whether you decide to believe me or not at the moment, seeing as you will very soon, I decided to drop in and tell you both one more thing before I go.]

GC: WH4444T?

TT: And what is that?

[You have an unexpected, and undesirable, visitor.]

GC: :?

GC: NO, TH3R3'S NO ON3 H3R3 BUT M3.

TT: Is there someone hidden, lurking in our dorms?

[No. In your city.]

Karkat was furious. Sollux had, once again, nearly revealed his powers in front of everyone. Their class had a training session involving some new monsters, apparently the more harmless ones made by their new witch enemy. Sollux had acted on instinct and begin sparking, before Karkat rematerialized, slapped him, and turned back into sickles.

The moment they closed the door to their dorm, Karkat flipped his shit.

"WHAT. THE ACTUAL. FUCK, CAPTOR? IT WAS A GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING TRAINING EXERCISE AND YOU ALMOST GAVE AWAY YOUR SECRET, WE HANDLED IT EASILY! You can't be so fucking careless, I mean Jegus fucking Christ, what if they saw? They'd know you're a fucking freak!"

"Yeah? Well guess what KK? You're a fucking freak too! I don't need a weapon. That's right. I don't. NEED. You! But without me, your little secret gets revealed too! One person being a meister_ and_ weapon? Maybe I should just tell everyone! And maybe reveal your blood colour while I'm at-"

Karkat threw his partner against the wall, "Don't you_ fucking_ dare, Captor. Even if I piss you off, that is NOT your secret to tell. I'd rather get you killed than let you tell."

With a glare, Sollux grabbed Karkat's hands and threw them off of himself. "Fuckin hell, KK. I wouldn't do that, you wouldn't do that, we both know it. Just. Go the hell to sleep."

Karkat sighed and removed himself, and followed his meister's instructions.

CA: hey fef

CC: -Eridan?

CA: wwhy havve you still not told any er anemonemoby

CC: I…Aboat w)(at?

CA: about ya knoww your ancestor and you being

CC: I can't… -Eridan, please. Don't tell. I'll tell t)(em eventually just. Not yet… -Even I )(ave only just found out… I just )(ave to process it myself, and tell t)(em once I figure out )(ow.

CA: okay

CA: hey fef

CA: i'm here for you

CC: ….T)(ank you, -Eridan.

Dear Roxy,

I know you're probably upset with me, but this is something I need to do. Something only I can do. You saved my life, and I am willing to risk it in order to keep you safe. You cannot pretend you wouldn't do the same in my position, love. I swear to you, I shall do everything in my power to succeed in this mission and come back alive.

Roxy, lovely, I know you are not aware of this yet but. You have power beyond what you know. You had the power to defeat my brother, and you gave me power against mind control. Though it seems substances, such as alcohol, still affect you, but they do not affect me. It is possible that, rather than sharing your power, you transferred it. However, from what I can sense, you do still possess your original abilities.

Roxy, love. Please do not become angry with me. I promise you I shall return as soon as I can. This is something I need to do, something only I can do. I pray you understand, lovely. Please, forgive me for leaving.

Perhaps speak to Rose. She has access to more information than she is aware. That is all of the information I can give you at this point in time, darling. I wish you the best of luck.

-Calliope

Patty was holding back tears. She had spent most of her recovery either crying or sleeping. Neither Kid nor Liz could get through to her. After she'd told them about all of the abuse Gamzee had put her through over their time as moirails, she shut herself down, refusing to speak to anyone, including her sister.

At one point, Liz got fed up enough that she began screaming at her little sister, "I'm here for you, for fuck's sake! I don't have to waste my time here! There is plenty I could be doing otherwise! You're fully physically healed, and mental shit has not ever been an issue for you before! So cut the shit and get up!"

After her outburst, Liz stormed out of the room.

"Pardon me a moment, Patty, I shall return as soon as possible," Kid promised, and followed Liz out of the infirmary.

As soon as they left, Patty threw off the covers, opened the window, and left as discreetly as possible. She was the only one besides Gamzee who knew his secret. She couldn't possibly just abandon him, regardless of the abuse he put her through. Because even though it was his voice, his body, his way of speaking, she knew him, and that was not him. She'd find a way to get that voice out of his head. She'd get him back.


	19. Roxy, Put That Down

FUCK! She tried to think, think of something, _anything_ she could do to stop Calliope from going on this mission. It was way too dangerous! Even if the cherub had been an active and capable meister for over a decade, she was going to go it alone this time, she was going to go undercover, she'd never trained for that! Taking another shot, Roxy returned to her desk, adding more things to her 'List of Reasons Why Calliope Shouldn't Go', even as her partner insisted that she go to sleep, as they had class in the morning.

After about twenty minutes of nagging, Roxy finally complied, brushing her teeth and preparing for bed.

Of course, Calliope plagued her nightmares. Visions of the young cherub being taken over and killing everyone again, of her being killed by any of the enemies they feared, of her simply walking alone and lost in the forest, unable to defend herself from the dangerous animals surrounding her-

She woke with a gasp, and immediately broke into tears. Struggling to contain her sobs, she looked at the clock. She had to be awake in two hours, class started in about two and a half.

After staring at the clock for about seven more minutes, she muttered, "Fuck it," and dragged herself out of bed, showered, and continued to drink a fresh bottle as she dried her hair, and attempted to do her makeup. By the time they had to leave for class, she was amazed that she could still walk

Hitting her head repeatedly on the desk, Roxy pretended, even if half-heartedly, to have a grip on reality. She had been clinging to Rose, begging her to help her stop Calliope from leaving. Although Rose had told her multiple times that it was Calliope's decision, she was still begging. Luckily class hadn't started yet.

"Roxy? Roxy, look at me. Look. At. Me" Rose gripped Roxy's chin, forcing the girl to face her, "Did you… Fuck. Did you drink again this morning? I told you to at least be sober for class!"

Roxy didn't listen, but continued her wailing of 'c'mooooon Rose why won't you help meeeee?' until the teacher dismissed her, asking Feferi to assist in escorting her back to their shared dorm. Feferi wasn't exactly familiar with how this whole alcohol thing worked, but did her best to help her partner back to their dorm, stumbling the whole way there.

Upon arrival, she placed Roxy on the couch, and sat herself in the couch opposite her. Roxy was struggling to sit up without falling over again. Feferi waited patiently until she managed to do so, somehow.

"Hey, um, Roxy? I have a feeling we should probubbly talk aboat this. From what I hear, this stuff you're drinking is like...poison? I don't reely think you should be drinking so much of it. It makes you act pretty strange, and you can't walk, and you cry a lot. Ooh! How aboat instead of drinking it, you talk to me! Would that help you? I reely don't want you to keep poisoning yourshellf like this… You can barely function and I'm reely, reely worried…"

Roxy remained silent for a moment, before she began making quiet sounds, her shoulders moved so Feferi thought maybe she was crying, until it built up to a very loud laughter. Although, tears were still streaming down her cheeks.

"I saved her! I fuckin'... I got her away! From hell, the hell she was, she was stuck in in and… and now shes! Haha! Shes gonna! HA! Go back! Theyre gona sehehend her, RIGHT back out there! And guess what fef guess, guess what. SHE'S GONNA FUCKIN DIE. and i cant do anything! I can. I cansit. Like. right here. And just . wait. Till i hear the news 'oh hey roxy guess what ur bff is DEAD! And this time YOU COULDNT FUCKIng save hererererrrrr…"

She dissolved into tears, crumpling onto the floor and simply sobbing. Her poorly applied makeup ran down her face, and she wailed. She pulled at her hair, scratched at her skin, screamed until her throat hurt. Neither knew how long she was like this, Feferi doing all she could to calm her down, but Roxy's screams overpowered her words of comfort, her thrashing denied her touch. She could simply only wait until her partner wore herself out.

Finally, after nearly an hour of this, Roxy's sobs fades to cries, to whimpers. Feferi took the human into her arms and stroked her hair, letting more tears fall, not minding them staining her shirt. She whispered comforting nothings to the girl, empty reassurances, promises of a future that couldn't be predicted. This continued until Roxy fell silent, and Feferi carried her to her bed, closed the curtain and turned out the light, muttering a goodnight.

The moment her door was closed, Roxy reached beside her bed, grabbed a half-full bottle, and drank heavily from it.


End file.
